This is the 1997 archive.

23 December, 1997 --

• X1354-644 - ~40 mCrab (has been at roughly the same intensity for 3 weeks)
• XTE J1755-324 - < 40 mCrab
• 4U 1820-30 (n6624) - 330 -> 200 mCrab in 1 day averages
• GRS 1915+105 - 0.3 to 2.4 Crab (90 s measurements)

2 October, 1997 --

The X-ray sky is fairly quiet!

• GRS1915+105 remains highly variable at 0.4 to 2.0 Crab,
• Cen X-3 is increasing (90 mCrab)
• XTE J1755-324 is down to 40 mCrab,
• Aql X-1 is no longer detected (below 5 mCrab).

16 September, 1997 --

• SMC X-1 - There were only about 40 days between the two most recent low states. The ~60 day cycle has indeed become shorter.
• Cen X-3 - ~10 mCrab (remains very low)
• x1657-415 - ~40 mCrab (peak in 1 day averages; 10 d orbital modulation is quite clear for the last 2 cycles)
• XTE J1755-324 - ~35 mCrab (still declining in a pseudo-exponential fashion)
• x1812-121 - 4 high points (~ 1 Crab) seen in the last two weeks suggest burst activity
• Aql X-1 - ~40 mCrab (going down fast)
• GRS 1915+105 - 0.25 to 2.5 Crabs (still strong and exceptionally variable)
• Cyg X-3 - daily averages have declined to ~130 mCrab

16 September, 1997 --

• grs1915+105 is highly variable with a mean near 1 Crab
• Aql X-1 is still above half maximum, now near 130 mCrab
• XTEJ1755-324 continues decline to 33 mCrab
• GX339-4 has increased to 33 mCrab
• X1957+115 also continues brightening, up to 75 mCrab
• CygX-3 is declining from its mini-outburst, now near 20 mCrab,

9 September, 1997 --

• LMC X-3 - ~6 -> ~13 mCrab
• Cen X-3 - < 20 mCrab (still very weak)
• Mkn 501 - ~ 13 mCrab
• XTE J1755-324 - ~65 -> ~40 mCrab (still declining from its peak)
• Aql X-1 - in range 80 to 210 mCrab (generally declining but not strictly monotonically)
• GRS 1915+105 - 0.4 to 2.7 Crab (highly variable)
• x1957+115 - rising to ~60 mCrab
• Cyg X-3 - ~80 to ~460 mCrab (still moderately active)

5 September, 1997 --

• Cen X-3 - < 25 mCrab (very low)
• GRO J1655-40 - < 15 mCrab (i.e., not detected; the outburst has ended)
• GX 339-4 - ~40 mCrab
• XTE J1755-324 - ~65 mCrab (down from a peak at ~180 mCrab)
• Aql X-1 - ~210 mCrab (this may be near maximum for this outburst)
• GRS 1915+105 - 0.4 to 3.3 Crab (highly variable)
• Cyg X-1 - ~270 mCrab (relatively low)
• Cyg X-3 - 30 to 400 mCrab (activity has increased)

27 August, 1997 --

• GRS1915+105 remains very bright, near 1.8 Crab,
• GROJ1655-40 outburst appears to be over, undetected and below 5 mCrab,
• Aql X-1 outburst is still near maximum, at 200 mCrab,
• XTEJ1755-324 slowly declining to 0ne-third of maximum, now at 60 mCrab,
• x1957+115 has increased to 60 mCrab
• Cen X-3 is in a very low state, near 16 mCrab.

20 August, 1997 --

• GRS1915+105 is highly variable, between 0.35 and 3.0 Crab
• GROJ1655-40 (nsco94) continues decline, down to 18 mCrab at MJD 50680 (latest realtime data)
• Aql X-1 is probably near its peak (now 200 mCrab)
• Cen X-3 bright state is apparently finished
• XTE J1755-324 has declined to 70 mCrab
• there was a possible 10 mCrab flareup in PKS2155-304 (BL Lac), for several days during week 80, but realtime data shows return to normal brightness (~2 mCrab) during the current week.

14 August, 1997 --

• GRO J1655-40 - ~170 mCrab (at end of week; intensity is still declining)
• XTE J1755-324 - ~100 mCrab (at end of week; declining in strength)
• Aql X-1 - ~80 mCrab (end of week; rise of a new outburst which started about MJD 50663)
• GRS 1915+105 - 1.3 to 2.6 Crab (another state change?)
• x1916-053 - ~25 mCrab (up from <10 mCrab 80 to 100 days ago)

5 August, 1997 --

• x0614+091 - 13 to 50 mCrab (daily averages)
• GRO J1655-40 - 0.64 down to 0.37 Crab (dropping fast)
• x1657-415 - <13 mCrab (appears to have weakened significantly relative to the past month)
• x1730-333 (Rapid Burster) - <10 mCrab (current outburst has ended)
• GRS 1915+105 - 1.07 to 1.47 Crab (relatively steady)
• Cyg X-3 - ~90 mCrab (daily averages; was relatively steady, so it must have returned to a "quiescent" state)
• 2138+568 (Cep X-4) - <10 mCrab (outburst has ended)
• XTE J1755-32 - ~180 mCrab (This new source went into outburst early this week, and has now been added to the ASM catalog. See IAU Circ. No. 6710)

29 July, 1997 --

• x0614+091 - 13 to 130 mCrab (flaring to higher level on ~5 day time scale)
• GRO J1655-40 - ~730 mCrab (still declining slowly)
• x1730-333 (Rapid Burster) - ~40 down to ~13 mCrab
• GRS 1915+105 - ~1.3 Crab (steadier than usual w/ most individual dwell solutions in the range 1.07 to 1.47 Crab)
• Cyg X-1 - ~0.4 Crab (most individual dwell solutions in the range 270 - 530 mCrab with 1 day flares to nearly 1 Crab)
• Cyg X-3 - ~100 mCrab (steady in daily averages - back to quiescent state)
• Cep X-4 (x2138+568) - ~10 mCrab (declining from recent mini-outburst)

22 July, 1997 --

• Cep X-4 has already peaked near 45 mCrab and the decline is well underway!
• LMC X-3 has departed from previous, periodic "on / off" cycles in the current high state,
• Mkn 501 is still in outburst (24 mCrab)
• Cyg X-3 high state appears to be over (down to 120 mCrab)
• The Rapid Burster (x1730-333) continues to decline (25 mCrab)
• Cyg X-1 has produced an intense brief flare to 0.9 Crab
• GRO J1655-40 (nsco94) continues to decline (860 mCrab), and
• GRS1915+105 has become bright and steady (apparently, a new state!) at 1.4 Crab!

15 July, 1997 --

• x0614+091 - 50 to 100 mCrab (somewhat active)
• x1553-542 - 13 t0 25 mCrab (for the last ~20 days)
• GRO J1655-40 - ~0.93 Crab
• x1657-415 - ~40 mCrab
• 4U 1705-44 - ~290 mCrab (on the decline now)
• Rapid burster (x1730-333) - ~60 mCrab (declining from recent outburst)
• GRS 1915+105 - 0.1 to 2.3 Crab (in individual 90 s averages) - 0.7 to 1.2 Crab (daily averages)
• Cyg X-3 - 130 to 250 mCrab (appears to be declining from very active state)
• x2138+568 (Cep X-4) - 25 to 40 mCrab (increasing)

10 July, 1997 --

• The rapid burster (x1730-333) is rapidly declining, reaching 130 mCrab at week's end;
• Cen X-3 is bright (260 mCrab),
• as is x1705-44 (330 mCrab).
• GROJ1655-40 (nsco94) is slowly declining (1.0 Crab),
• while GRS1915+105 continues to slowly rise (1.0 Crab).
• The transient cepx4 may be turning on!... we must watch this.

01 July, 1997 --

• mkn501 is still bright (25 mCrab)
• the Rapid Burster (x1730-333) has risen to 350 mCrab (XTE TOO program continues)
• x1705-44 is epaking at 330 mCrab
• the small outburst in x1803-245 (50 mCrab) appears to be over
• GROJ1655-40 (nsco94) is steady at 1.1 Crab
• grs1915+105 is near 0.8 Crab, with impressive short-term variations during pointed observations,
• cygx3 remains bright an variable near 400 mCrab

There has been a large increase (103) in the number of sources for which ASM light curves are being produced. Most of these are non-detected or very weakly detected high-latitude sources being given "pass 1" analysis only:

• 26 BL Lacs (X-ray selected) - efforts to monitor these for TeV Observatories would flag additional cases like the current outburst in Mkn 501
• 38 emission-line AGN (nearby, X-ray selected) - for monitoring and study in conjunction with optical and BATSE observations
• 14 formerly ignored, quiescent X-ray transients
• 11 CVs and SXS
• 11 compact star formation regions
• 3 bright clusters of galaxies (detected with ASM: comacg, cencg, m87) - also included in pass2 models

These additions appear with various states of completion re: ASM source history:

• 34 are complete (IOC to current week)
• 58 reach back to week 55
• 11 (the last additionm of BL Lacs) started with week 72.

26 June, 1997 --

• GRO J1655-40 - ~1.3 Crab at week's end (down a bit from last week)
• X1657-415 - < 40 mCrab (appears to have weakened)
• 4U 1705-44 - ~330 mCrab at week's end
• Rapid burster - has begun an outburst in week 73 (June 25, 1997) which was not noticable in week 72
• X1803-245 - ~50 mCrab peak intensity during an outburst lasting ~1 week
• 4U 1820-30 (in NGC 6624) - ~370 mCrab (bright)
• EXO 1846-031 - ~13 mCrab
• GRS 1915+105 - 0.5 - 1.1 Crab (w/ nearly regularly spaced flares seen in ASM time series data on a number of occasions)

17 June, 1997 --

• Mkn 501 - ~23 mCrab (still bright)
• GRO J1655-40 - ~1.47 Crab (declined from week 70)
• x1657-415 - ~40 mCrab
• 4U 1705-44 - ~230 mCrab
• RXTE J1716-389 - ~25 mCrab
• GRO J1744-28 - ~40 mCrab (may have increased, but the confidence level of this is not very high due to its location in a crowded region)
• GRS 1915+105 - ~730 mCrab (There have been extended exposures of this source in SSC 3 during many of the recent PCA observations of Cir X-1. The quasiperiodic flaring is evident in the ASM time series data.)
• Cyg X-3 - 160 to 600 mCrab ( stil very bright)

11 June, 1997 --

• Mkn 501 - ~23 mCrab
• GRO J1655-40 - ~1.6 Crab (no longer increasing, and showed a decreasing trend in the latter half of the week)
• X1657-415 - ~50 mCrab
• 4U 1705-44 - ~210 mCrab
• RXTE J1716-389 - ~30 mCrab
• GS 1843+009 - < 10 mCrab (i.e., not detectable at present)
• GRS 1915+105 - ~0.67 Crab
• Cyg X-3 - 200 to almost 600 mCrab (still very bright)
• Source in M15 - < 10 mCrab

3 June, 1997 --

• Mkn 501 - ~17 mCrab
• GRO J1655-40 - ~1.7 Crab (climbing)
• x1657-415 - 25 to 60 mCrab (when not in eclipse)
• GX 339-4 - ~25 mCrab
• 4U 1705-44 - ~180 mCrab (rising)
• RXTE J1716-389 - ~25 mCrab
• Rapid burster (x1730-333) - < 10 mCrab (still no sign of a strong outburst)
• GS 1843+009 - < 10 mCrab
• X1845-024 - 10 to 25 mCrab
• GRS 1915+105 - 0.2 to 1.1 Crab (activity level is increasing)
• Cyg X-1 - ~0.4 Crab (increasing slowly)
• Cyg X-3 - 100 to 500 mCrab (still bright and active)
• source in M15 - ~18 mCrab
• RXTE J1648-427 has been removed from the catalog since its existence has not been confirmed by further ASM observations or by PCA observations.
• Also, there will be no ASM results from the first 3 days of week 70 because of the solar array drive problem.

28 May, 1997 --

• Mkn 501 - ~17 mCrab
• GRO J1655-40 - ~1.5 Crab (climbing slowly)
• X1657-415 - ~33 mCrab (the two most recent eclipses are visible in the light curve)
• GX 339-4 - ~25 mCrab
• X1730-333 (Rapid burster) - the average intensity appeared to be ~ 25 for the last few days of the week
• GS 1843+009 - < 10 mCrab
• GRS 1915+105 - 270 to 930 mCrab (activity is still increasing slowly)
• Cyg X-3 - 100 to 500 mCrab (strong and active)
• M15 (source in) - ~20 mCrab

22 May, 1997 --

• Mkn 501 - ~19 mCrab (still bright)
• GRO J1655-40 - ~1.45 Crab ( up from ~1.3 Crab)
• GX 339-4 - ~26 mCrab (declining)
• 4U 1705-44 - ~50 mCrab (in the lower quarter of its range)
• XTE J1716-389 - ~40 mCrab ( the results for a few dwells are muchhigher, but these have not been double checked)
• Rapid burster (x1730-333) - No sign of a new outburst in week 67, butone should be starting soon
• GRO J1744-28 - <~25 mCrab
• GS 1843+009 - <~13 mCrab
• GRS 1915+105 - 0.4 to 0.5 Crab
• Cyg X-3 - still moderately bright (similar to the past few weeks)

Some high intensity points have been noticed in the GSFC results for GX 339-4. Apparently these high points are not in the MIT results. I caution all users of ASM data to be skeptical of the reality of all isolated points which show intensities much different that most other results for the source in question. It is the intent of the MIT group to verify these high points or to track down the differences between the GSFC and MIT results.

14 May, 1997 --

• NGC 4151 - 4 to 18 mCrab (average intensity)
• Mkn 501 - 13 to 20 mCrab (bright)
• GRO J1655-40 - 1.3 Crab (steady)
• X1657-415 - up to ~50 mCrab
• GX 339-4 - decreased to ~33 mCrab
• 4U 1705-44 - 25 to 65 mCrab (perhaps rising once again)
• XTE J1716-389 - 13 to 25 mCrab (possibly rising)
• GRS 1737-31 - 6 to 40 mCrab (but results appear to be noisier than usual)
• GRO J1744-28 - ~< 30 mCrab
• NGC 6441 - 20 - 40 mCrab
• GS 1843+009 - ~< 10 mCrab (still declining)
• GRS 1915+105 - 0.3 to 0.8 Crab (intensity and activity are still increasing slowly)
• Cyg X-3 - 130 to 500 mCrab in individual measurements; 260 to 400 mCrab in daily averages (bright)

1 May, 1997 --

• NGC 4151 - ~13 mCrab
• Cen A - ~< 13 mCrab
• Mkn 501 - ~18 mCrab, relatively bright
• GRO J1655-40 - ~1.3 Crab, fairly steady
• x1657-415 - up to ~50 mCrab
• GX 339-4 - down to ~45 mCrab
• 4U 1705-44 - ~27 mCrab
• GRO J1744-28 - ~27 mCrab
• 4U 1820-30 (in NGC 6624) - 65 to 120 mCrab, low for this source
• GS 1843+009 - ~10 mCrab
• GRS 1915+105 - 300 to 500 mCrab and shows signs of increasing activity
• Cyg X-3 - 190 to 370 mCrab (moderately bright)
• source in M15 - ~40 mCrab

29 April, 1997 --

• Mkn 501 - 13 to 25 mCrab
• XTE J1648-427 - ~20 mCrab. This 40 day light curve is our first light curve for this recently discovered source.
• GRO J1655-40 - steady at ~1.3 Crab. The low points noted last week were artifacts; they have been removed from the light curve.
• X 1657-415 - 1 day averages are up to ~80 mCrab which indicates a resumption of activity
• GX 339-4 - 50 - 65 mCrab
• 4U 1705-44 - variable in range <13 to 80 mCrab
• XTE J1716-389 - was ~30 mCrab, now ~13 mCrab. This is also the first light curve for this newly discovered source.
• GX 354-0 (4U 1728-34) - showed a spike of up to 240 mCrab
• GRO J1744-28 - ~25 mCrab
• GX 3+1 - showed a dip down to ~290 mCrab from recent 350 mCrab flux
• GS 1843+009 - ~10 mCrab
• GRS 1915+105 - ~300 mCrab, steady and climbing very slowly
• Cyg X-3 - in range 100 to 270 mCrab, still moderately active
• M15 - ~25 mCrab

24 April, 1997 --

• Mkn 421 - ~10 mCrab
• X 1145-619 showed a weak outburst (up to ~50 mCrab) that looks like it occurred ~187 days since the prominent previous outburst. There are now 3 "outbursts" detected with the ASM that appear to be consistent with the 187 day periodicity listed in van Paradijs's table (in Lewin, van Paradijs, and van den Heuvel).
• NGC 4151 - daily averages are ~20 mCrab
• Mkn 501 - bright at 13 - 26 mCrab
• GRO J1655-40 exhibited some low points, i.e., down to ~0.13 Crab, although it mostly appeared at the 1.3 Crab level. Prediction of a trend at this time is impossible.
• GX 339-4 - still ~50 mCrab.
• 4U 1705-44 is low again (< 25 mCrab).
• GRS 1737-31 - detection is unclear (<~ 13 mCrab).
• GRO J1744-28 - down to ~40 mCrab
• SAX J1750-29 averaged ~20 mCrab for the week.
• GX 3+1 decreased from ~330 to ~280 mCrab.
• GS 1843+009 is still slowly declining and is now ~13 mCrab.
• GRS 1915+105 is very slowly increasing ( now ~280 mCrab) and is rather steady (i.e., no flaring behavior is apparent).
• Cyg X-3 - moderately strong at 130 to 250 mCrab.

15 April, 1997 --

• NGC 4151 is relatively strong (15 - 25 mCrab).
• Mkn 501 is still bright at ~ 13 mCrab.
• GRO J1655-40 is still holding steady at ~1.3 Crab.
• GX 339-4 increased from ~45 to ~65 mCrab.
• 4U 1705-44 was at a level of ~80 mCrab without an obvious monotonic trend.
• RX J17095-266 did not appear to be detected (i.e., < 13 mCrab).
• GRS 1737-31 was also not clearly detected (strength certainly less than ~25 mCrab) during the latter half of the week.
• GRO J1744-28 was down to ~65 mCrab.
• SAX J1750-29 was most likely at a level of 12 - 25 mCrab; this conclusion is based on relatively few measurements.
• GS 1843+009 is now at ~17 mCrab; its light curve shows a consistent slow decline over the last 6 weeks.
• GRS 1915+105 remains steady at ~270 mCrab.
• Cyg X-3 declined from its high strength to a moderately strong level of 150 to 225 mCrab (daily averages).

8 April, 1997 --

• X 0614+091 appeared somewhat brighter and more variable, 25 - 100 mCrab, than it had over the previous ~80 days.
• Cen X-3 appeared moderate to weak, < 130 mCrab.
• NGC 4151 results, 6 - 26 mCrab, are somewhat noisy but indicate the source is strong.
• X 1636-536 has been relatively bright for ~20 days, at 200 - 300 mCrab.
• Mkn 501 is still bright at ~16 mCrab.
• GRO J1655-40 remains relatively steady at ~1.3 Crab.
• GX 339-4 is still ~45 mCrab.
• 4U 1705-44 continues on an erratic climb, and has reached ~100 mCrab.
• RX J17095-266 is no longer in outburst (i.e., < 13 mCrab).
• GRS 1737-31 was in the range 6 - 26 mCrab, with an average intensity of ~17 mCrab.
• GRO J1744-28 declined to ~65 mCrab.
• SAX J1750-29 decreased from ~26 to ~13 mCrab.
• GS 1843+009 was at ~20 mCrab.
• GRS 1915+105 shows a very slight upward trend at its cuurent steady level of ~270 mCrab.
• X 1953+319 is down to 10 to 26 mCrab.
• Cyg X-3 is still strong (130 - 470 mCrab with daily averages of ~ 270 mCrab).

3 April, 1997 --

• LMC X-3 is near its typical maximum intensity of ~40 mCrab.
• Cen X-3 is no longer exceptionally strong, i.e., < 240 mCrab.
• NGC 4151 has an apparent intensity of ~10 mCrab.
• Sco X-1 is now in a more typical intensity range of 10.5 to 13 Crab.
• Mkn 501 is at a level of ~13 mCrab.
• GRO J1655-40 remained steady at ~1.3 Crab.
• GX 339-4 declined slowly to ~45 mCrab.
• 4U 1705-44 is rising and had reached a level of ~50 mCrab.
• RX J17095-266 is now below 27 mCrab.
• GRS 1737-31 daily average intensities were in the range 0 - 27 mCrab.
• GRO J1744-28 declined to ~130 mCrab.
• SAX J1750-29 was at a level of ~25 mCrab, which is down from its peak intensity of ~90 Crab around March 14.
• GS 1843+009 was at a strength of ~20 mCrab.
• Aql X-1 is certainly in the quiescent state, < ~15 mCrab.
• GRS 1915+105 remained steady at ~260 mCrab.
• X 1953+319 is now in the range 25 - 40 mCrab.
• Cyg X-3 is still strong with daily averages running ~260 mCrab.

26 March, 1997 --

• Cen X-3 is still moderately strong, 160 to 300 mCrab.
• NGC 4151 has been slowly strengthening over the course of ~ 100 days to ~17 mCrab.
• Sco X-1 is still relatively bright at 12 - 15 Crab (900 - 1100 cts/s).
• Mkn 501 - ~13 mCrab.
• GRO J1655-40 remained stable at ~1.3 Crab.
• GX 339-4 remains at ~50 mCrab.
• 4U 1705-44 increased to ~45 mCrab from minimum flux ~3 weeks earlier.
• RXJ 17095-266 continued to decrease and was in the intensity range of 25 to 65 mCrab.
• GRO J1744-28 continued to decline to 160 - 200 mCrab at week's end.
• GS 1843+009 was still around 25 mCrab.
• EXO 1846-031 gives some indication that its intensity is ~13 mCrab, but the data are noisy.
• Aql X-1 now has a measured intensity below 25 mCrab.
• GRS 1915+105 remains stable at ~270 mCrab.
• Cyg X-3 is still moderately strong; measured intensities are in the range 100 to 450 mCrab.

19 March, 1997 --

• Sco X-1 appears, on average, brighter (14 Crab), perhaps with less flaring
• Nsco94 (GROJ1655-40) is still increasing, to 1.2 Crab
• GRS1915+105 continues low and steady at 0.25 Crab
• Cyg X-3 still in outburst state, to 0.5 Crab
• Cen X-3 stil bright at 200 mCrab
• GX339-4 is up to 70 mCrab
• GS1843+009 still in outburst at 25 mCrab
• LMCX-3 is near secondary maximum in its cycle, and this one appears brighter than the previous one.
• GROJ1744-28 is steadily declining, at 250 mCrab
• Aql X-1 outburst has finished, no longer detected
• X1705-440 has passed a very deep minimum
• RXJ1709-266 also declining, at 66 mCrab

12 March, 1997 --

• Cen X-3 remained moderately strong (160 - 300 mCrab).
• Sco X-1's average intensity for the week was high, as for last week. The count rate was 900 to 1100 cts/s (12 - 15 Crab).
• Mkn 501 has appeared to be of above typical strength since December or January with an apparent intensity of ~20 mCrab.
• GRO J1655-40 is still increasing slowing in intensity, and was found at ~ 1.27 Crab.
• GX 339-4 remained at ~50 mCrab.
• 4U 1705-44 decreased to ~40 mCrab.
• RXJ 17095-266 was still found in the range 80 to 130 mCrab.
• GRO J1744-28 continued its decline, and was ~350 mCrab at week's end.
• GS 1843+009 increased to ~27 mCrab. Last week's reported intensity should have been 20 to 25 mCrab.
• Aql X-1 decreased to ~50 mCrab.
• GRS 1915+105 remained stable at ~240 mCrab.
• Cyg X-3 was still moderately strong at 240 to 320 mCrab.

6 March, 1997 --

• Cen X-3 is still relatively strong, i.e., up to ~370 mCrab. A number of low flux points were also seen in the last week, but these could be in-eclipse measurements.
• Sco X-1 is often found with a strength of 800 - 900 cts/s, with flares reaching up to 1700 cts/s. This week was unusual since it was mostly in the 1000 to 1100 cts/s range. (1 Crab = 75 cts/s)
• GRO J1655-40 was still increasing slowly and was ~1.25 Crab at week's end.
• GX 339-4 remained at ~50 mCrab.
• 4U 1705-44 decreased to ~50 mCrab.
• RX J17095-266 was still measured in the range 80 - 120 mCrab.
• GRO J1744-28 decreased to ~360 mCrab.
• GS 1843+009 appears to be at a level of 40 to 50 mCrab, which is the highest flux yet for this source in the ASM light curve.
• Aql X-1 was down to ~100 mCrab.
• GRS 1915+105 is declining very slowly, so that the flux is still about 260 mCrab.
• Cyg X-3 is still moderately strong at 200 to 320 mCrab.

28 February, 1997 --

• Cen X-3 remains relatively bright, 130 to 330 mCrab.
• GRO J1655-40 was still climbing slowly at week's end and had reached ~1.1 Crab.
• GX 339-4 is still ~50 mCrab.
• 4U 1744-05 continued to decline at a moderate pace, and had decreased to ~100 mCrab.
• RX J17095-266 was about 100 mCrab.
• GRO J1744-28 was in the intensity range 450 to 550 mCrab.
• Aql X-1 decreased in strength to ~210 mCrab.
• GRS 1915+105 held steady at ~270 mCrab.
• Cyg X-3 was still moderately bright at ~270 mCrab.

21 February, 1997 --

• Vela X-1 is relatively bright, ~300 mCrab, compared to its typical 150 mCrab strength.
• Cen X-3 is still moderately strong at 160 to 300 mCrab.
• GRO J1655-40 slowly gained strength, and was about ~700 mCrab at the end of the week.
• 4U 1705-44 drooped in intensity to ~160 mCrab.
• RX J17095-266 dropped to ~80 mCrab.
• GRO J1744-28 dropped from ~670 mCrab to ~470 mCrab.
• GS 1843+009 is possibly being detected at ~1 ct/s (~13 mCrab).
• Aql X-1 was measured at 290 - 370 mCrab, and the light curve hints that it is dropping in intensity.
• GRS 1915+105 remains steady at ~270 mCrab.
• Cyg X-1 remains low at ~250 mCrab.
• Cyg X-3 remains moderately bright at 210 to 350 mCrab.

14 February, 1997 --

• The intensity of Cen X-3 has decreased to ~170 mCrab.
• GRO J1655-40 is up in strength slightly to ~7/8 Crab.
• RX J17095-266 is still in the range 130 - 200 mCrab.
• GRO J1744-28 remains at ~2/3 Crab.
• Aql X-1 is at ~350 mCrab.
• GRS 1915+105 remains low and steady at ~250 mCrab.
• Cyg X-1 is very low, ~<200 mCrab.
• Cyg X-3 is at ~300 mCrab.

7 February, 1997 --

• Aql X-1: This source may be seen increasing to ~250 mCrab (and in week 53 it increases to ~350 mCrab).
• Cen X-3: This is still strong with one-day averages occasionally reaching ~300 mCrab.
• Cyg X-1 is nearly its record low value for the ASM at ~250 mCrab.
• Cyg X-3 is still bright at 250 to 300 mCrab.
• GRO J1744-28 is around 2/3 Crab.
• GRS 1915+105 remains steady at ~280 mCrab.
• GX 339-4 has risen from 25 to 60 mCrab during week 52.
• GRO J1655-40 is in the vicinity of 2/3 Crab.
• XTE J1709-267 (listed as RX J17095-266) is in the range 140 to 200 mCrab (see IAU Circ. 6543).
• The light curve of XTE J1856+053 shows 2 outbursts.

31 January, 1997 --

• Aql X-1 has been seen at ~50 mCrab. It does not appear to be rising to a much higher level, though.
• Cen X-3 is bright, ~400 mCrab.
• Cyg X-3 is still bright at ~300 mCrab.
• GRS 1915+105 is slowly declining in intensity and is now ~300 mCrab.
• GRO J1655-40 is at a strength of ~0.5 Crab.

20 January, 1997 --

• Aql X-1 - a few rising points, so that this source should be watched.
• Cyg X-3 - roughly 1/4 Crab (i.e., still relatively bright for this source but not a record)
• GRO J1744-28 - ~500 mCrab and rising
• GRS 1915+105 - ~300 mCrab
• GRO J1655-40 - dropped from ~ 1 Crab to ~ 1/2 Crab this week,
• 4U 1744-05 - back up to ~ 300 mCrab

15 January, 1997 --

• groj1744-28 is emerging from the solar low-sampling region with a flux ~0.5 Crab, confirming the renewed outburst reported by BATSE
• exo2030+375 shows bright points, although measurements into week 50 show only upper limits
• x1730-333 (rapid burster) also shows a couple of bright points while measurements into week 50 show only upper limits
• lmcx3 has finished its bright cycle
• grs1915+105 remains in the "low-hard" state at 0.3 Crab
• nsco94 (groj1655-40) has decreased now to 0.7 Crab

7 January, 1997 --

• Cyg X-3 is very bright (20 to 30 SSC cts/s or 270 to 400 mCrab).
• GRS 1915+105 remains steady and low at about 330 mCrab.
• Some galactic bulge sources are starting to emerge from the passage of the sun through the region. Dwells with Sco X-1 in the field are being regularly obsrved again, but no new results on GRO 1744-28 were in the week 48 light curve.
• The count rate for Sco X-1 for week 48 was generally in the range 750 to 950 SSC cts/s. This is very typical of Sco X-1 since the beginning of the mission. A number of dwells in the times around disappearance due to the sun and reappearance show low flux values. Since these low fluxes are mainly occurring at times of special circumstances, they ought to be treated with caution. As I noted above the last weeks results do not show these low count rates. There is likely to be a slow downward trend in the derived intensities due to calibration drift, which will hopefully be corrected in the soon to be relaesed version of the analysis code. Ron may be able to comment further on this since we have reanalyzed the data through week 47.

View current activity reports.

View the 2007 archives.

View the 2006 archives.

View the 2005 archives.

View the 2004 archives.

View the 2003 archives.

View the 2002 archives.

View the 2001 archives.

View the 2000 archives.

View the 1999 archives.

View the 1998 archives.

View the 1996 archives.