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| Paper: |
What is Happening in W COM (ON 231)? The Extraordinary 1998 Outburst |
| Volume: |
159, BL Lac Phenomenon |
| Page: |
149 |
| Authors: |
Tosti, G.; Massaro, E.; Takalo, L. O.; Villata, M.; Efimov, Y. |
| Abstract: |
A coordinated optical monitoring of W Com (ON 231) was carried out by the Perugia, Rome, Turin and Tuorla groups in the period from March 1994 to March 1997 (Tosti et al., 1998). During this period WCom was characterized by the presence of three major outbursts having the observed maxima in March 1995, February 1996, and January 1997. The maximum observed value was V=3D13.61 during the 1996 burst. In this paper we present optical photometric and polarimetric data obtained after March 1997 which show that at the beginning of 1998 W COM started a new outburst. The observations obtained in April 1998 show that the source reached a V magnitude of about V=3D12.5. The W COM magnitude observed during the maximum observed in April 1998 is the brightest ever recordered since the photographic value of 11.6 observed in 1911 by Wolf (1916). |
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