High Energy

The High Energy page highlights how the Meshtitsa Backyard Observatory pivots its 0.25-m, f/4.8 Newtonian and photometric filter-set toward the most energetic optical explosions in the sky—classical novae, core-collapse and thermonuclear supernovae, and the violent jet flares of quasars and blazars. By combining 60- to 300-second exposures with ensemble differential photometry, the system reaches 0.03–0.05 mag precision on targets between 13th and 19th magnitude, making it sensitive enough to follow an event from discovery-night peak all the way back to quiescence.

Why small telescopes matter here?

Temporal coverage: space- or flagship-class facilities rarely stay pointed at a single transient for weeks. A backyard rig can fill solar gaps or bad-weather holes in professional datasets, ensuring unbroken light curves.
Multi-band cadence: with automated filter wheel changes scripted into INDIGO, Meshtitsa can alternate B, V and R every few minutes—crucial for temperature and extinction estimates.
Flexible response: the same hardware that caught a supernova’s first peak can, an hour later, pivot to a gamma-ray alerted blazar, then finish the night on a dwarf-nova superoutburst.

All processed measurements appear in public archives within a day, plus compact summaries on the website for educators and citizen scientists. That open-data ethos means a flare or supernova caught from a Bulgarian hillside can immediately contribute to worldwide efforts, triggering spectroscopy on 8-m telescopes, seeding machine-learning training sets, or starring in a middle-school science project.

In short, the High-Energy Transients Programme turns Meshtitsa’s modest aperture into a nimble, community-connected detector of the universe’s most dramatic optical fireworks.

Photometry of the supernova SN 202afbl

SN 2024abfl, UT 2024-12-22 16:32

The supernova has been discovered by Koichi Itagaki (Japan) in the galaxy NGC 2146, constellation Camelopardalis. It is identified as Type II. NGC 2146 is a spiral galaxy with a visual magnitude of +12.81, an apparent size of 2.7 x 1.1 arcmin, and a distance of 22 Mpc (71 Mly).

B = 18.296 (0.090)

V = 17.131 (0.048)

R = 16.714 (0.098)

Fresh data on the transient GOTO065054.49+593624 2024

Fresh data on the transient GOTO065054.49+593624 2024, classified as dwarf nova subtype WZ Sagittae (WZ Sge). A particular type of cataclysmic star with an interesting behavior. Apparently, we have witnessed a superoutburst and a superhump, which ended around 12-14 days after the maximum (as described in the literature).

Two days ago (Oct 18, 2024) we recorded a sharp dip in the brightness, and today a sharp return to the previous state.

At a detailed level, the light curve's shape has also changed, with small alternating humps appearing, probably with a duration close to the orbital period. A check with the Lomb-Scargle algorithm in the Peranso program shows approximately 1.5 h.

Clear nights are coming, to be continued...

BL Lac (918 Mly)

Sep 2024

RGB image composed by photometric data provided in Observatory "Meshtitsa"

Telescope: 0.25-m Newtonian Reflector F/4.7

Camera: ASI533 MM Pro

Filters: Baader Bessel BVR

BL Lac Outburst, Sept 2024

BL Lacertae or BL Lac is an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Unlike other types of active galactic nuclei, BL Lac is characterized by rapid and large amplitude flux variability and significant optical polarization. Because of these properties, BL Lac was originally considered a variable star. The observed nuclear phenomenology of BL Lac is interpreted as being due to relativistic jet effects close to the observer's line of sight. Regarding the AGN classification, BL Lac is a subtype of blazars. A new outburst of BL Lac was reported with a peak brightness of 12.6 magnitude in the V-band. During the phenomenon, several observations including time series and single estimates in the three bands B, V, and R were carried out by the Observatory "Meshtitsa". The observational data have been published in the AAVSO international database.

V0625 Vul

Sep 2024

RGB image composed by photometric data provided in Observatory "Meshtitsa"

V0615 Vul, Nova in Vulpecula 2024

Nova V615 Vul was discovered on 2024 July 29.832 UT. Meshtitsa Observatory has been actively involved in the campaign to track the brightness change in the three bands B, V, and R. The observational data have been published in the AAVSO international database.

SN 2024gy (NGC 4216, 45 Mly)

Feb 2024

RGB image composed by photometric data provided in Observatory "Meshtitsa"

Supernova SN 2024gy, Type Ia

The supernova in the galaxy NGC 4216 was detected by Japanese amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki on January 4, 2024. The supernova was classified as a Type Ia - a nuclear explosion of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf reaching the Chandrasekhar limit. In the following months, the supernova was also imaged and observed repeatedly by the Meshtitsa Observatory. The observational data have been published in the AAVSO international database.

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