PHOTOMETRIC MONITORING OF OJ 287 FROM 2002 TO 2007

Abstract

OJ 287 is one of the best studied blazars. It is also a prime target in our long-term blazar monitoring program carried out with the 1.56 m telescope at the Sheshan Station of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, China. Here, we present optical photometry results of V, R, and I passbands of the BL Lacertae object OJ 287 (0851 + 202) carried out from 2002 January to 2007 February. The largest variations of Delta V = 1.96 mag (14.01 - 15.97 mag), Delta R = 2.36 mag (13.39 - 15.75 mag), and Delta I = 1.95 mag (12.79 - 14.74 mag) were detected in our observations. Intraday variation timescales of similar to 10 minutes to 2 hr were detected in optical passbands.