3C 279 Explained

3C 279
Epoch:	J2000
Ra:	^[1]
Constellation Name:	Virgo
Z:	0.5362 ± 0.0004
Dist Ly:	5.0 Gly
Appmag V:	17.8
Names:	3C279, 4C –05.55, NRAO 413, PKS 1253–05

3C 279 (also known as 4C–05.55, NRAO 413, and PKS 1253–05) is an optically violent variable quasar (OVV), which is known in the astronomical community for its variations in the visible, radio and x-ray bands.^[2] The quasar was observed to have undergone a period of extreme activity from 1987 until 1991.^[3] The Rosemary Hill Observatory (RHO) started observing 3C 279 in 1971,^[3] the object was further observed by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory in 1991, when it was unexpectedly discovered to be one of the brightest gamma ray objects in the sky.^[4] It is also one of the brightest and most variable sources in the gamma ray sky monitored by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. It was used as a calibrator source for Event Horizon Telescope observations of M87* that resulted in the first image of a black hole.^[5]

Observations

• The apparent superluminal motion was detected during observations first made in 1973 in a jet of material departing from the quasar, though it should be understood that this effect is an optical illusion caused by naive estimations of the speed, and no truly superluminal motion is occurring.^[6]
• 16 June 2015, the 3C 279 had a large gamma-ray outburst, believed to be caused by the injection of high-speed electrons in the central, high-density region.^[7]
• Further observations with the Event Horizon Telescope during April 2017 provided a high level of detail to the radio jet, with a resolution as small as 20 micro-arcseconds. They indicated a bent or rotating jet shaped by shock waves.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Web site: NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database . Results for 3C 279 . 2006-12-04.
2. http://www.aanda.org/index.php?option=article&access=standard&Itemid=129&url=/articles/aa/full/2005/24/aa1815-04/aa1815-04.html Resonant absorption troughs in the gamma-ray spectra of QSO
3. 6. J. R. Webb. M. T. Carini. S. Clements. S. Fajardo. P. P. Gombola. R. J. Leacock. A. C. Sadun. A. G. Smith. The 1987-1990 optical outburst of the OVV quasar 3C 279. Astronomical Journal. 1990. 100. 1452–1456. 1990AJ....100.1452W. 10.1086/115609.
4. http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981226.html APOD: December 26, 1998 - Gamma Ray Quasar
5. The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration . First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. IV. Imaging the Central Supermassive Black Hole . The Astrophysical Journal . 10 April 2019 . 875 . 1 . 10.3847/2041-8213/ab1141. 1906.11243 . 22. 10150/633754 . free .
6. http://www.spacetimetravel.org/bewegung/bewegung4.html Apparent superluminal motion
7. 2002.04965. 10.1007/s10509-020-3746-2. 2020Ap&SS.365...33S. Understanding the giant gamma-ray outburst on June 16, 2015 from the blazar 3C 279. 2020. Singh. K. K.. Meintjes. P. J.. Ramamonjisoa. F. A.. Astrophysics and Space Science. 365. 2. 33. 254265537 .
8. Kim . Jae-Young . EHT . April 7, 2020 . Event Horizon Telescope imaging of the archetypal blazar 3C 279 at an extreme 20 microarcsecond resolution . Astronomy & Astrophysics . 640 . A69 . 10.1051/0004-6361/202037493 . 2020A&A...640A..69K . April 8, 2020. free .