0405-123

Notes

PKS 0405-12 is a variable quasar in northern Eridanus, only 1.6° W of planetary nebula NGC 1535, and 2.7° NE of Gamma Eridani. The designation PKS 0405-12 refers to the Parkes Radio Survey (PKS), where this object was cataloged as a radio source. Initially, this object was discovered in the late 1950s as a radio source during a radio survey, undertaken with the Sydney cross-type radio telescope (MSH). In 1966, a 16-mag stellar object was identified as the optical counterpart of the radio source. Spectroscopic investigations revealed a typical Seyfert-1 spectrum, which led to the quasar classification. In the same year 1966, the first redshift of z=0.574 was determined. This corresponds to a cosmological distance of more than 5×10⁹ light-years! Besides the radio, PKS 0405-12 also has been known as a source of UV, IR and X-ray emissions. Additionally, the quasar host (LEDA) is a member of a remote galaxy cluster.
Quasar PKS 0405-12 is often given with its other common designation OF-109.

PKS 0405-12 is a small amplitude variable with a total range of about 1 magnitude in the optical. For visual observers with telescopes of at least 8- to 10-inch of aperture, this quasar is a nice observing target. It appears as a stellar object even with large aperture telescopes. CCD observers, as well as visual observers, shall use the comparison stars given above. The comparison stars C=13.35 and D=14.34 are recommended for both unfiltered and v-mag photometry.
Another sequence was published by Gonzàlez-Pérez et al. (2001).

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When you are around focussing on quasar PKS 0405-12 do not miss NGC 1535, a bright planetary nebula and a showpiece of its class, only 1.6° W of PKS 0405-12.

Those observers who like to track down some more very old quasi-stellar photons may turn to the bright and variable BL Lac object MG 0509+0541, a 15-mag object, some 23° NE in Orion.
Another violently variable BL Lac object is PKS 0422+00. It can be found 13.4° NNE in southern Taurus, close to the constellation of Eridanus/Orion.

Literature

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Bolton, J.G., et al. 1966, ApJ, 144, 1229; Radio and Optical data on Fifteen Quasi-Stellar Objects.
Bolton, J.G., Ekers, J. 1966, AuJPh, 19, 559; Identification of strong Extragalactic Radio Sources in the
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Green, R.F., Pier, J.R., et al. 1980, ApJ, 239, 483; Observation of Quasars with the International Ultraviolet
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Cross-Identifications	OF-109, MSH 04-102, TXS 0405-123, 0405-123 PKS 0405-123, LEDA 2823804, 1ES 0405-123 RX J0407.8-1211, 2MASSi J0407484-121136
Equat. coordinates	RA 04 07 48.5 DE -12 11 36 (J2000)
Constellation	Eridanus
Type	QSO
Redshift	z=0.5726
Distance (2) (3)	2057 Mpc
Total mag range (mv) (4)	14.3 - 15.4
Catalog Magnitude (1)	14.86
Absolute Magnitude (1)	-27.7 M_B
Light Travel-Time (2)	5.364 × 10⁹ yrs

star	B	V
A	12.92	11.92
B	13.13	12.54
C	14.05	13.35
D	14.84	14.34
E	15.88	15.28