Photometric Monitoring of MCG–06-30-15

Abstract We describe photometric monitoring of the Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG–06-30-15 with the Las Cumbres Observatory network. Using the V filter, 496 images were collected between 2023 December and 2024 June from observatories in Chile, South Africa, and Australia. We created light curves of the active galactic nucleus continuum emission using aperture photometry and image subtraction methods. We find that the typical magnitude difference between the two light curves is Δ V ≈ 1.9 mag, indicating that the host galaxy contributes approximately 85% of the total flux through the photometric aperture. The amplitude of variation is significantly enhanced when the host galaxy is removed: Δ V = 0.1 mag from aperture photometry compared to Δ V = 0.5 mag with image subtraction. Future work will compare the continuum light curve with the broad emission-line flux variations to provide insight into the physical parameters of the broad-line region in MCG–06-30-15 and the mass of the central supermassive black hole.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Research Notes of the AAS
Published
2025-04-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/2515-5172/adcba4
Primary Topic
Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Photometric Monitoring of MCG–06-30-15

Misty C. Bentz, B. Tipton
Research Notes of the AAS
Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation
article

Photometric Monitoring of MCG–06-30-15

Misty C. Bentz, B. Tipton
article en

Abstract

Abstract We describe photometric monitoring of the Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG–06-30-15 with the Las Cumbres Observatory network. Using the V filter, 496 images were collected between 2023 December and 2024 June from observatories in Chile, South Africa, and Australia. We created light curves of the active galactic nucleus continuum emission using aperture photometry and image subtraction methods. We find that the typical magnitude difference between the two light curves is Δ V ≈ 1.9 mag, indicating that the host galaxy contributes approximately 85% of the total flux through the photometric aperture. The amplitude of variation is significantly enhanced when the host galaxy is removed: Δ V = 0.1 mag from aperture photometry compared to Δ V = 0.5 mag with image subtraction. Future work will compare the continuum light curve with the broad emission-line flux variations to provide insight into the physical parameters of the broad-line region in MCG–06-30-15 and the mass of the central supermassive black hole.

Research Notes of the AASVol. 9(4)
Openalex Percentile: Top 91%
Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation
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