In 1968, a similar connection was made between the "variable star" BL Lacertae and a powerful radio source VRO 42.22.01.Schmitt J. L. (1968): "BL Lac identified as radio source", Nature 218, 663 BL Lacertae shows many of the characteristics of quasars, but the optical spectrum was devoid of the spectral lines used to determine redshift. Faint indications of an underlying galaxy—proof that BL Lacertae was not a star—were found in 1974.
