Rapid optical variability of QSO GB6 J1604+5714

ATel #4184; Rumen Bachev (IA-NAO, BAS, Bulgaria)
on 18 Jun 2012; 13:58 UT
Credential Certification: Rumen Bachev (bachevr@astro.bas.bg)

Tweet

We observed QSO GB6 J1604+5714 (=1FGL J1604.3+5710) during the nights of June 15, 16 and 17, 2012, with the 60cm Belogradchik telescope, Bulgaria, following the reported IR brightening of this object (ATEL #4174). We can confirm that the object is indeed in a very active state, showing R-band changes of about 0.4 mag for a day. The measured R-band magnitudes (with a typical error of about 0.05) are as follows (JD, R-mag): 2456094.35, 15.89; 2456095.39, 16.31; 2456096.35, 15.94. Further, we monitored the object on intra-night time scales (unfiltered light, typical photometric error of 0.02 mag) and found significant variability of more than 0.1 mag/hour. On one occasion (June 17) a sharp flare with amplitude of 0.15 mag and duration of about an hour was observed. Therefore, we can confirm that the object shows optical behavior, typical for an extreme blazar. Further multiwavelength observations are encouraged.