BL Lacertae

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BL Lacertae or BL Lac is a highly variable, extragalactic AGN (active galactic nucleus or active galaxy). It was first discovered by Cuno Hoffmeister in 1929^[1], but was originally thought to be an irregular variable star in our own galaxy and so was given a variable star designation. In 1968 the "star" was identified by John Schmitt at the David Dunlap Observatory as a bright, variable radio source. A faint trace of a host galaxy was also found.^[2] In 1974, Oke and Gunn measured the redshift of BL Lacertae as z = 0.07, corresponding to a recession velocity of 21,000 km/s with respect to the Milky Way.^[3]

BL Lacertae is the original member of a type of blazar known as "BL Lacertae objects", also termed simply "BL Lac objects". This class is distinguished by optical spectra devoid of the broad emission lines characteristic of quasars. On occasion, however, BL Lacertae has been observed to display weak emission lines.

BL Lacertae changes in apparent magnitude over fairly small time periods between values of 14 and 17. Its location in the sky for epoch 2000.0 is at RA 22h02m43.3s, DEC +42°16'40".

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BL Lacerta is also the name of a famous music group, the BL Lacerta Improvisation Ensemble. Founded in Texas in 1976, BL Lacerta has performed with musicians and composers such as John Cage (who wrote one of his last compositions for the ensemble and performed with them at the Dallas Museum of Art in 1986), Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, David Behrman, and a variety of visual artists, actors, and dancers including members of Ensemble Modern, The Erik Hawkins Dance Company, and New Bohemians, to name a few. The group has also created a long series of live scores for classic silent films. The ensemble is currently in residence in the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University.

Flyer from 1983 Carnegie Hall Performance

[edit] References

1. ^ Hoffmeister, Cuno (1929). "354 neue Veränderliche". Astronomische Nachrichten 236: 233. doi:10.1002/asna.19292361502. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1929AN....236..233H. 
2. ^ Schmitt, John L. (May 1968). "BL Lac identified as a Radio Source" (^{[dead link]}). Nature 218: 663. doi:10.1038/218663a0. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v218/n5142/abs/218663a0.html;jsessionid=42293521D95FBBFB98B58E8AE6D11FEE. 
3. ^ Oke, J. B.; Gunn, J. E. (1974). "The Distance of BL Lacertae". Astrophysical Journal Letters 189: 5. doi:10.1086/181450. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1974ApJ...189L...5O.