CTA 102, also known by its B1950 coordinates as 2230+114 (QSR B2230+114) and its J2000 coordinates as J2232+1143 (QSO J2232+1143), is a blazar-type quasar discovered in the early 1960s by a radio survey carried out by the California Institute of Technology. It has been observed by a large range of instruments since its discovery, including WMAP, EGRET, GALEX, VSOP and Parkes, and has been regularly imaged by the Very Long Baseline Array since 1995.[1] It has also been detected in gamma rays, and a gamma-ray flare has been detected from it.[2]
In 1963 Nikolai Kardashev proposed that the then-unidentified radio source could be evidence of a Type II or III extraterrestrial civilization on the Kardashev scale. Follow-up observations were announced in 1965 by Gennady Sholomitskii, who found that the object's radio emission was varying;[3] a public announcement of these results on April 12, 1965, caused a worldwide sensation.[4] The idea that the emission was caused by a civilization was rejected when the radio source was later identified as one of the many varieties of a quasar.[5]
The American folk rock band The Byrds whimsically reflected the original view that CTA-102 was a sign of extraterrestrial intelligence in their song "C.T.A.-102" from their 1967 album Younger Than Yesterday.[6]
In late 2016 CTA 102, usually glowing around magnitude +17, had a bright outburst in visible light to magnitude +11 (~250 times brighter than usual).[7] [8] This likely was the most luminous blazar state ever observed,[9] with an absolute magnitude in excess of -32.
A new outburst began in December 2017, with increased gamma-ray[10] and optical activity.[11] As of 22 December 2017, it has reached magnitude +14.[12]
. Johnny Rogan. 317–320. 2011. Byrds: Requiem for the Timeless. Rogan House. 978-0-95295-408-8.