The MAGIC telescope observed the region around the distant blazar 3C 66A for 54.2 hr in 2007 August–December .
The observations resulted in the discovery of a \gamma -ray source centered at celestial coordinates R.A. = \mathbf { 2 } ^ { \mathrm { \mathbf { h } } } \mathbf { 23 ^ { \mathrm { \mathbf { m } } } } \mathbf { 12 } ^ { % \mathrm { \mathbf { s } } } and decl . \mathbf { = 43 } ^ { \mathbf { \circ } } \mathbf { 0. ^ { \prime } 7 } ( MAGIC J0223+430 ) , coinciding with the nearby radio galaxy 3C 66B .
A possible association of the excess with the blazar 3C 66A is discussed .
The energy spectrum of MAGIC J0223+430 follows a power law with a normalization of \left ( \mathbf { 1.7 \pm 0.3 } _ { \mathrm { \mathbf { stat } } } \mathbf { \pm 0.6 } _ { \mathrm { % \mathbf { syst } } } \right ) \mathbf { \times 10 } ^ { \mathbf { -11 } } TeV ^ { -1 } cm ^ { -2 } s ^ { -1 } at 300 GeV and a photon index \mathbf { \Gamma = -3.10 \pm 0.31 } _ { \mathrm { \mathbf { stat } } } \mathbf { \pm 0.2 } _ { % \mathrm { \mathbf { sys } t } } .