Name of the Speaker(s): Kidger, Mark R.
Institution: I.A.C (Spain)
Title of the communication: Ten years of infrared and optical monitoring of blazars in the Canary Islands.
Preliminary abstract: Near infrared (JHK) monitoring of a sample of blazars started with the 1.5m telescope in Teide Observatory (Tenerife) in 1988 and has continued ever since, whilst visible monitoring with various telescopes in El Roque de los Muchachos Observatory and, later, Teide Observatory, has been carried out since 1986. The observations show a range of phenomena, including major outbursts and microvariability. Sample light curves of various blazars including OJ287, 3c345, 3c279 and 3c66 will be presented. Some of these objects show major changes in their spectral energy distribution at different levels of activity.