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J.P. McFarland, H.R. Miller, A.M. Williams, E.C. Ferrara (Georgia State University), J.C. Noble (Boston University)
The blazar, 3C 446, was monitored during 1999-2001 with the 42-inch and 72-inch telescopes equipped with the Loral CCD camera at Lowell Observatory in order to study the time scales of the optical variability. Variations with an amplitude of more than 2.0 magnitudes were found during this campaign. Day-to-day microvariations of 0.1-0.5 magnitude were observed, with variations of a comparable amplitude detected on timescales as short as a few hours. These variations place severe limits on the size of the emitting region, and provide constraints for the physical processes responsible for these variations. JPM, HRM, AMW and ECF are grateful for support from a grant from the Research Corporation and the PEGA-RPE program at Georgia State University. JCN is supported, in part, by NASA grant NCCW-0085.