The 8 billion light year distant quasar CTA 102, which normally shines at about magnitude +17, is currently undergoing an outburst, making it visible in amateur telescopes. I observed it last night from my backyard (NELM about +5.8 at the zenith) and estimated that it shone at about magnitude +13.6 when comparing it to a field star of magnitude +14. I observed it with my LITEBOX 18-inch at 295x and found it easy to see (and certainly brighter than the mag. +14 galaxy NGC 7305 which appears in the same high power field immediately to the west). The outburst began about two weeks ago and it is impossible to say how much longer it will be this bright. So if you’re interested in seeing an object with a redshift of 300,000 km/s+, now is the time, especially considering that the moon will begin to affect visibility in about a week’s time. From a dark sky, the quasar should be visible in an 8-inch telescope. If you observe this object, let us know! Here is a link to the Sky&Tel article by Bob King that alerted me to the visibility of this quasar... it also includes finder charts: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/obser...ntly-variable/