Blazar Optical Sky Survey (BOSS) Project
Blazar Optical Sky Survey (BOSS) Project is an optical monitoring program, initiated on April 2013 by Dr. Kosmas Gazeas at the University of Athens. It aims at monitoring the optical variability on active Blazars, in parallel with other multi-wavelength observations obtained from space and ground-based observatories.
For further information, visit the BOSS Project official webpage.
Blazar variability timescales are often divided into three categories: the intra-day variability (IDV) which ranges between a few minutes up to one day (Wagner & Witzel 1995), the short-term variability (STV) which ranges between a few days to a few months and the long-term variability (LTV), which covers all variations longer than a few months, up to several years (Gupta et al. 2004).
BOSS Project utilizes the 0.40 m f/8 robotic and remote controlled telescope at the University of Athens Observatory. Continuous observations every night are not always easy to occur, mainly due to weather conditions.
Sample Light Curves
The photometric light curves of Mrk421 in all optical bands (left). Gray areas mark the periods of brightness peak, while the width of each box
represents the duration of each peak and the dashed line the day of maximum brightness.
Continuous monitoring of Mrk421 for a total of 370 days (2013-2014) in R-band (right). Luminosity variations of this highly active blazar can
be cross-correlated with orbital data and/or other monitoring campaigns in a wider range of energies.
Multiband sample of Mrk421 data, spreading over the entire electromagnetic spectrum from very high energies (gamma rays on top) to very low ones (radio signal at bottom).
Vertical dashed lines on the left represent the moment when the high energy flare occurred on 12 April 2013 (MJD 56394)
and the corresponding signals detected a few days later in lower energies.
Target list
In the frame of BOSS Project, the following targets are under monitoring schedule:
Target | Other Names | RA (J2000) | DEC (J2000) | Rmag | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mrk1018 | PGC 8029 | 02:06:16 | -00:17:29 | 10.3 mag | Seyfert 1 Galaxy |
| 1ES 0236+610 | LS I +61 303 | 02:40:32 | +61:13:42 | 10.2 mag | HMXB (V615 Cas) |
| 1H 0323+342 | PGC 2045127 | 03:24:41 | +34:10:46 | 13.1 mag | Blazar |
| PKS 0716+714 | GSC 0368:0899 | 07:21:54 | +71:19:21 | 14.3 mag | Blazar |
| OJ287 | GSC 1400:0230 | 08:54:49 | +20:06:30 | 14.1 mag | Blazar |
| Mrk110 | PGC 26709 | 09:25:13 | +52:17:11 | 15.2 mag | Seyfert 1 Galaxy |
| Mrk421 | PGC 33452 | 11:04:27 | +38:12:31 | 8.3 mag | Blazar |
| Mrk180 | PGC 35899 | 11:36:26 | +70:09:28 | 14.5 mag | Blazar |
| 3C273 | PGC 41121 | 12:29:07 | +02:03:09 | 14.1 mag | Blazar |
| 3C279 | PGC 2817645 | 12:56:11 | -05:47:22 | 15.9 mag | Quasar |
| PKS 1510-089 | PGC 2828331 | 15:12:51 | +09:06:00 | 16.5 mag | Quasar |
| PKS 1553+113 | GSC 0947:1098 | 15:55:43 | +11:11:24 | 14.6 mag | Blazar |
| Mrk501 | PGC 59214 | 16:53:52 | +39:45:36 | 13.3 mag | Blazar |
| 1ES 1959+650 | PGC 2674942 | 20:00:00 | +65:08:55 | 11.2 mag | Blazar |
| BL Lac | 1ES 2200+42.0 | 22:02:43 | +42:16:40 | 14.7 mag | Blazar (prototype) |
| CTA 102 | PGC 2819036 | 22:32:36 | +11:43:51 | 16.7 mag | Quasar (4C 11.69) |
| 3C 454.3 | PGC 2819327 | 22:53:58 | +16:08:54 | 15.2 mag | Quasar |
| 1ES 2344+514 | QSO B2344+514 | 23:47:05 | +51:42:18 | 15.5 mag | Blazar |