Aquila X-1 optical outburst in progress
ATel #260; S. A.Ilovaisky and C. Chevalier (OHP)
on 27 Mar 2004; 00:10 UT
Credential Certification: Sergio A. Ilovaisky (ilovaisky@obs-hp.fr)
Subjects: Optical, X-ray, Binary, Neutron Star, Transient
The optical counterpart of the recurrent X-ray transient Aquila X-1 has been observed since mid-March 2004 with the Haute-Provence 1.2-m telescope and CCD camera to be in an intermediate brightness state near V = 17.5. The current low soft X-ray (2-10 keV) flux, as detected from this source by the Rossi/XTE ASM since early February (obtained from publicly available data), yields a high Optical/Soft X-ray flux ratio nearly identical with that observed during the rare 1996 "mini-outburst" event.