The blazar AO 0235+164 is brightening in Optical bands

ATel #16204; Oliver Vince, Goran Damljanovic (Astronomical Observatory, Volgina 7, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia), Alok C. Gupta (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Manora Peak, Nainital 263001, India)
on 24 Aug 2023; 09:22 UT
Credential Certification: Dr. Alok C. Gupta (acgupta30@gmail.com)

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The blazar AO 0235+164 (RA: 02:38:38.9301, DEC: +16:36:59.275) at redshift z = 0.94 is a micro-lensing object that has recently shown rapid optical flaring (#ATel16190, #ATel16199). We performed optical BVRI photometric monitoring of the blazar from August 20 to 22, 2023, using a 1.4-metre optical telescope located at Astronomical Station Vidojevica, Serbia. The telescope is equipped with a CCD detector and BVRI optical filters. From August 20 to 22, 2023, we detected the source varying from R = 15.503 mag (at MJD = 60177.43209) to R = 15.278 mag (at MJD = 60178.57980). The blazar was reported at R = 17.38 mag (MJD = 60162.025), i.e., on August 6, 2023 (#ATel16190). These observations show the blazar has brightened by R = 2.1 mag in 16 days. But still, the blazar has not reached its historically brightest state (R = 14 mag) (Roy et al., 2023, ApJS, 265, 14). The current high activity state in optical bands of this blazar deserves close monitoring in optical bands as well as in multi-wavelengths.