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CTA-102
Blazar-type quasar From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.[3] It has been observed by a large range of instruments since its discovery, including WMAP, EGRET, GALEX, VSOP and Parkes,[1] and has been regularly imaged by the Very Long Baseline Array since 1995.[4] It has also been detected in gamma rays, and a gamma-ray flare has been detected from it.[5]
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.[3] Follow-up observations were announced in 1965 by Gennady Sholomitskii, who found that the object's radio emission was varying;[6] a public announcement of these results on April 12, 1965, caused a worldwide sensation.[7] 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.[3]
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.[8]
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).[9][10] This likely was the most luminous blazar state ever observed,[11] with an absolute magnitude in excess of -32.
A new outburst began in December 2017, with increased gamma-ray[12] and optical activity.[13] As of 22 December 2017, it has reached magnitude +14.[14]
CTA 102 displays a radio structure mainly made of a radio core and two other components. There is also a double knot feature.[15] Additionally, it also has two radio lobes described having flux densities of 170 and 75 mJy, with a jet found as curved according to high resolution imaging by Very Long Baseline interferometry at 15 GHz. This jet contains jet components moving with apparent velocities of 15.4 ± 0.9c.[16]
The quasar is also classified to be highly polarized with a flat radio spectrum, and such belongs to a classification of optically violent variable quasars.[17][18]
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See also
- PSR B1919+21, the first pulsar discovered, mistaken for an alien radio signal
- HD 164595
References
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