Blazar PKS 0716+71 in bright outburst - imaged fr Singapore

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starfinder
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Blazar PKS 0716+71 in bright outburst - imaged fr Singapore

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As reported in an AAVSO Special Notice, the blazar PKS 0716+71 is currently in a bright outburst, at about around mag 12+:
http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-396

A blazar is a type of very compact quasar, which is an active galactic nuclei in a giant elliptical galaxy; these are
extremely luminous objects at cosmological distances:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazar

Blazar PKS 0716+71 is at a luminosity distance of 1153 Mpc (3.76 billion light years):
http://quasar.square7.ch/fqm/0716+714.html

Yes, that is a whopping distance of 3,760 million light years away!

Despite the vast distance, PKS 0716+71 now shines at a relatively bright mag 12+. It is situated in the far northern constellation of Camelopardalis.

I managed to image it last night from Singapore city soon after it transited (culminated), in the north at only 19 deg above the horizon.

This is the most distant object that I've imaged!

Based on a comparison with nearby stars, I estimate that it was at around mag 12.6. The object in my image was identified using the star charts obtained at the website of the AAVSO:
http://www.aavso.org/vsp

Image details:
Meade LX-90 8" SCT f/10 (2000mm), Canon EOS 60D ISO3200 15s
Date/ time: 30 Jan 2015 at 1635 UTC
Image
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