Large amplitude variation in optical flux in the blazar S4 0954+658
ATel #16041; S. Kishore, P. U. Devanand, A. C. Gupta (ARIES, Nainital, India),
on 20 May 2023; 03:27 UT
Credential Certification: Dr. Alok C. Gupta (acgupta30@gmail.com)
Subjects: Optical, Blazar
The blazar S4 0954+65 has been observed in several nights in 2023, from January 26 to May 14, with the 1.04m Sampurnanand Telescope (ST) and 1.3m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) of Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, India.
The source was in the low state R = 17.02 mag on January 10/11 night (ATel#15861). We detected the faintest state R = 16.55 mag and the brightest state R = 13.44 mag of the blazar on January 26 and March 26, respectively. So, in the two months of our observations, the blazar brightened by 3.11 mag. By considering the faintest level of the blazar, R = 17.02 mag on January 10/11 night (ATel#15861), the blazar has brightened by 3.58 mag in about 75 days. The most recent observation show the source is at R = 14.29 on May 14. Some other optical monitoring results in 2023 are also reported in (ATels#15861,#15960,#16030).
Further observations are encouraged.
