Light Curves and Spectra of 3C 273 and MKN 279 using the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer

We present results from spectroscopy and photometry of two active galaxies observed with the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer. The spectrometer has a spectral resolution of better than 1 Angstroms over the wavelength range from 70-120 Angstroms and the deep survey (DS) imager has an effective bandpass of 60-100 Angstroms. The quasar 3C 273 was observed three times: 1994 January 8-14, 1994 June 11-18, and 1995 January 3-15. The light curves show a factor of five drop in the DS imager count rate from 1994 January to 1994 June and then an increase of a factor of 3 to 1995 January. Within the observational periods, the rms variations were of order 10%. The effective exposure time of the combined spectrum was about 550,000 s and shows only an indication of a weak feature in the 76-77 Angstroms region. There is no obvious identification of this feature with an emission line but if interpreted as the upper edge of an absorption feature due to Fe XVI, then it could be an indication of a warm absorber with a temperature of order 3 x 10(6) K. The Seyfert 1 galaxy Mkn 279 was observed 1994 April 22-29 and the broad band light curve shows 40% fluctuations over a time scale of one day. The spectrum was too weak to yield a significant detection.