Optical and NIR activity of blazars 3C454.3 and 3C66a
ATel #3003; V. M.Larionov, E. Borisova (Astron. Inst. of St. Petersburg Univ., Russia), S. G.Jorstad, B. Taylor (Boston University, USA), A. A.Arkharov, D. Gorshanov (Pulkovo Observatory, Russia)
on 3 Nov 2010; 22:28 UT
Credential Certification: V.Larionov (vlar@astro.spbu.ru)
Subjects: Infra-Red, Optical, Request for Observations, AGN, Blazar, Quasar
With reference to ATels #2988, #2995 we report that blazar 3C454.3 shows prominent activity in optical and NIR bands (R~13.5 and J~11.5 on November 2, brightening by ~1.5 mag within ~10 days). These values are close to the brightest states of 2008 July and 2009 December outbursts (see ATels #1625 and #2325). Simultaneously R band polarization reached a level of 30%. Our monitoring of 3C66a show that optical and NIR brightness of this blazar is now on the highest level for the time span of last 3 years, R~13.4 and J~11.7. Our observations are made within the frames of the GLAST-AGILE Support Program (GASP) of the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT).
