Violent activity of quasar 3C 454.3
ATel #9192; V. M. Larionov, E. N. Kopatskaya (St. Petersburg University), A. A. Arkharov, S. A. Klimanov (Pulkovo Observatory)
on 26 Jun 2016; 11:43 UT
Credential Certification: V. Larionov (vlar@astro.spbu.ru)
Subjects: Infra-Red, Optical, AGN, Blazar, Quasar
Referred to by ATel #: 9723
We perform optical and NIR monitoring of a sample of gamma-bright blazars using 0.7-m AZT-8 telescope (Crimean Astrophysical Observatory) and 1.1-m AZT-24 telescope (Campo Imperatore, Italy), as a part of WEBT/GASP project. As reported in ATels #9150, #9178 (in optical bands) and ATels #9186, #9190 (gamma-rays), quasar 3C454.3 shows remarkable flaring activity. We report that 3C 454.3 reached a maximum brightness R=14.23 in the night of 2016 June 23, TJD 57563.5, that seems to be simultaneous with gamma-ray maximum reported by the Fermi team (Atel #9190). In the night of 2016 June 24 it was almost on the same level, R=13.34-13.39, while in the night of 2016 June 25 (TJD 57565.4) we detected a sharp fading to R=14.6-14.7. Meanwhile the degree of polarization remained on the level 13%-18% during both maximum and post-maximum nights, that is not uncommon for this quasar. R band light curve for 3C 454.3 can be seen on our web-page.
