3C 454.3
3C 454.3 is a quasar/blazar located off the galactic plane. It lies some 7.1 billion light-years away in Pegasus , at galactic coordinates long = 86 deg, lat = -38 deg, and is currently undergoing a flaring episode that makes it especially bright, especially in the gamma-ray part of the spectrum.
History
In July and August 2007, the gamma-ray blazar 3C 454.3 flared to near-historic levels, only two years after its record-breaking 2005 optical flare. Luckily, Spitzer Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory were already scheduled for simultaneous observations. Swift, RXTE and the new gamma-ray AGILE spacecraft responded to this target of opportunity, and were joined by observatories around the world.
The GLAST Large Area Telescope AGN science group started a multiwavelength campaign for blazar 3C454.3 (2251+158), in July and continuing through August 2007. This Ad Hoc Intensive Campaign (AIC) was prompted by brightening in the radio, optical and X-ray.
