Multi-band optical observations of the flaring blazar OQ 334 (B2 1420+326) with the new 50cm robotic telescope at IAO
ATel #16782; Mywish Anand (Indian Astronomical Observatory), Ravi Joshi (Indian Institute of Astrophysics), Krishan Chand (Central University of Himachal Pradesh), Vibhore Negi (IUCAA)
on 21 Aug 2024; 05:48 UT
Credential Certification: Vibhore Negi (vibhore.negi18@gmail.com)
Subjects: Optical, AGN, Blazar, Quasar
We report the multi-band (B, V, R, I) optical observations of the flat spectrum radio quasar OQ 334 (RA= 14 22 30.38; Dec= +32 23 10.44; z= 0.68144. Data source: SIMBAD, http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/ ) with the 50cm robotic telescope at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO). The source was recently reported to be flaring in the optical (ATel#16681, ATel#16700) and gamma-ray (ATel#16680) wavelengths. It was at its peak brightness in the R-band at 13.7 magnitude during July 2019 (ATel#12914). Multi-band observations of this source were last reported in 2020 in ATel#13421 and ATel#13428.
The source was observed from 21 July to 26 July, and 30 July 2024. Integration times for each exposure in all the filters were taken to be 240s. Field stars from APASS DR9 catalogue (Henden et. al., 2016) were used for photometric calibration after applying the transformation equations by Lupton (2005). Below are the brightest optical magnitudes obtained in each filter, their date, MJD and errors:
B 30 July 2024 MJD 60521.86633696308 15.11 ± 0.28
V 21 July 2024 MJD 60512.91137064803 14.36 ± 0.76
R 21 July 2024 MJD 60512.91706420914 14.1 ± 1.31
I 21 July 2024 MJD 60512.92282789236 13.24 ± 0.97
50cm telescope is the new, refurbished and rebuilt robotic telescope at the Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle, Leh, Ladakh, India. The region of Hanle is recognised by the IAU as the first dark sky reserve in India.
