3C 454.3 | |
---|---|
Observation data (Epoch J2000) | |
Constellation | Pegasus |
Right ascension | 22h 53m 57.7s[1] |
Declination | +16° 08′ 53.6″[1] |
Redshift | 0.859001 ± 0.000170[1] |
Distance | 7.7 Gly |
Type | Blazar/Quasar |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 16.1[1] |
See also: Quasar, List of quasars |
3C 454.3 is a blazar (a type of quasar with a jet oriented toward Earth) located away from the galactic plane. It is one of the brightest gamma ray sources in the sky,[2] and is one of the most luminous astronomical object ever observed, with a maximum absolute magnitude of -31.4.[3] It has the brightest blazar gamma ray flare recorded, twice as bright as the Vela Pulsar in the Milky Way galaxy. It also flares at radio and visible wavelengths – in red light, the blazar brightened by more than 2.5 times to magnitude 13.7 – and it is very bright at high radio frequencies.[4]
It appears in Pegasus, near Alpha Pegasi (Markab). It has been known to occasionally outburst, brightening to a peak apparent magnitude of 13.4 in June 2014.[5][6]