No Missing Flare in OJ 287




Valtonen, Mauri J.

PublisherAmerican Astronomical Society

2024

Research Notes of the AAS

Research Notes of the AAS

276

8

2515-5172

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3847/2515-5172/ad8d5e

http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/2515-5172/ad8d5e

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/459259221

https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.00908



The quasar OJ 287 has shown large flares since 1888, following a pattern that arises in a supermassive black hole binary when the secondary hits the accretion disk of the primary, and releases a hot bubble of gas at every disk crossing. A complete mathematical solution of the flare sequence produced a list of future flares, the latest happening in the summer of 2022. Here I look into the origin of the idea that the lack of seeing the 2022 flare is a theoretical problem. During the summer OJ 287 cannot be observed by ground-based optical telescopes. In a paper published in 2021, ahead of the 2022 observing campaign, this was clearly stated. The often repeated claim that there is a "missing flare problem," is a misunderstanding, as no detection was possible with the current instrumentation.


Last updated on 2025-27-01 at 19:52