Micro-variability of AGN Markarian 421

Several Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) have been observed in collaboration with the international group of scientists, VERITAS. These AGN are modeled as super massive black holes in the centers of young galaxies, and have a history of flares in the very high energy gamma-ray range. The presentation will concentrate on the micro-variability of the brightness of a single object, Markarian 421, over the course of select nights over several months. These observations were made in the optical spectrum, using yellow, red, and blue filters. Micro-variability observations are crucial because they give us important clues as to the mass, size, and radiation mechanism (including high energy particle jets).