OVV quasar

{{Short description|Type of highly variable quasar or subtype of blazar}}

File:Artist’s impression of the quasar 3C 279.jpg.{{cite news|title=APEX takes part in sharpest observation ever|url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1229/|accessdate=18 July 2012|newspaper=ESO Press Release}} ]]

An optically violent variable quasar (often abbreviated as OVV quasar) is a type of highly variable quasar. It is a subtype of blazar that consists of a few rare, bright radio galaxies, whose visible light output can change by 50% in a day.{{Cite book |last=Darling |first=David J. |title=The universal book of astronomy: from the Andromeda Galaxy to the zone of avoidance |date=2004 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-26569-6 |location=Hoboken, NJ}} OVV quasars have essentially become unified with highly polarized quasars (HPQ), core-dominated quasars (CDQ), and flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQ).{{cite journal |last1=Urry |first1=C. Megan |last2=Padovani |first2=Paolo |title=Unified Schemes for Radio-Loud Active Galactic Nuclei |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific |date=September 1995 |volume=107 |pages=803 |doi=10.1086/133630|bibcode=1995PASP..107..803U |arxiv=astro-ph/9506063 |s2cid=17198955 }} Different terms are used, but the term FSRQ is gaining popularity, effectively making the other terms archaic.

At visible wavelengths, they are similar in appearance to BL Lac objects but generally have stronger broad emission lines.