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Monday, September 28, 2026 · UTC
The Sky & Telescopes

NGC 1275 records precise extreme optical magnitude readings

Astronomers published tightly constrained brightness measurements for the radio galaxy, observed 19 September 2026 from ground facilities.

Arjun Nair
Astronomy Editor
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Astronomers measure record brightness of radio galaxy
Astronomers measure record brightness of radio galaxy AI illustrationhow this picture was made
Radio galaxy NGC 1275 reached measured optical magnitudes of 12.629 in the R band and 13.137 in the V band on 19 September 2026, astronomers reported. [4] The readings carry error margins of ±0.003 for the R band and ±0.004 for the V band. They were captured using the 0.30 m telescope at the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Siena. [5] Spectroscopic follow up observations were obtained with the Kast spectrograph on the Shane telescope at Lick Observatory on 21 September 2026. [1] Observations from the LCO 1-m telescope at Teide Observatory placed the start of the outburst around MJD 61302. [2] The BHTOM collaboration ran an observing campaign for the event using five separate ground telescope facilities. [3]
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  1. The spectroscopic observations were obtained using the Kast spectrograph on the Shane telescope at the Lick Observatory on September 21, 2026. · The Astronomer's Telegram
  2. Observations obtained with the LCO 1-m telescope at Teide Observatory showed the new outburst began around MJD 61302. · The Astronomer's Telegram
  3. The BHTOM collaboration utilized five facilities including the 0.41-m telescope at the School Astronomical Observatory Bolecina and the 0.6-m f/6.5 ADYU60 reflector at the Observatory of Adiyaman University for the observing campaign. · The Astronomer's Telegram
  4. On 2026-09-20, astronomers Alessandro Marchini, Leonardo Stiaccini, Gaia Verna, and Giacomo Bonnoli (University of Siena, Italy, and INAF - Brera) reported that the radio galaxy NGC 1275 reached an extreme optical magnitude of 12.629 ± 0.003 in the R band and 13.137 ± 0.004 in the V band in observations made on 2026-09-19 with the 0.30 m telescope at the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Siena (IAU MPC code K54). · The Astronomer's Telegram
  5. The optical observations of NGC 1275 were conducted with a 0.30 m telescope at the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Siena, which has IAU MPC observatory code K54. · The Astronomer's Telegram
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