2002MNRAS.329L..13G

In this paper, a BeppoSAX observation of the bright Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 6300 is presented. The rapidly variable emission from the active nucleus is seen through a Compton-thin (N_H≃3×10^23.cm^-2) absorber. A Compton-reflection component with an unusually high reflection fraction {formmu2} (R≃4.2), and the comparison with a reflection-dominated spectrum measured by RXTE two and half years earlier suggest that NGC 6300 belongs to the class of `transient' active galactic nucleus, undergoing long and repeated periods of low activity. The spectral transition provides support to the idea that Compton-thick and Compton-thin X-ray absorbers in Seyfert 2 galaxies are decoupled, the former being most likely associated with the `torus', whereas the latter is probably located at much larger distances.