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Optical Spectroscopic Observations of Gamma-ray Blazar Candidates. V. TNG, KPNO, and OAN Observations of Blazar Candidates of Uncertain Type in the Northern Hemisphere

The extragalactic $γ$-ray sky is dominated by emission from blazars, a peculiar class of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Many of the $γ$-ray sources included in Fermi -Large Area Telescope Third Source catalog (3FGL) are classified as a blazar candidate of uncertain type (BCU) because there is no optical spectra available in the literature to confirm their nature. In 2013 we started a spectroscopic campaign to look for the optical counterparts of the BCUs and of the Unidentified $γ$-ray Sources. The main goal of our investigation is to confirm the blazar nature of these sources having peculiar properties as compact radio emission and/or selected on the basis of their infrared (IR) colors. Whenever possible we also determine their redshifts. Here we present the results of the observations carried out in the Northern hemisphere in 2013 and 2014 at Telescopio Nazionale Galilleo (TNG), Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) and Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (OAN) in San Pedro Mártir. In this paper we describe the optical spectra of 25 sources. We confirmed that all the 15 BCUs observed in our campaign and included in our sample are blazars and we estimated the redshift for 3 of them. In addition, we present the spectra for 3 sources classified as BL Lacs in the literature but with no optical spectra available to date. We found that one of them is a quasar (QSO) at a redshift $z$ = 0.208 and the other 2 are BL Lacs. Moreover, we also present 7 new spectra for known blazars listed in the Roma-BZCAT having an uncertain redshift or being classified as BL Lac candidates. We found that one of them, 5BZB J0724+2621 is a `changing look' blazar. According to the spectrum available in the literature it was classified as a BL Lac but in our observation we clearly detected a broad emission line that lead to classify this source as a QSO at $z$=1.17.