The optical companion (V2116 Oph) of the X-ray pulsar GX 1+4 was obser
ved on 1994 April 14 in the H alpha region using the coude spectrograp
h and a CCD detector on the 1.9-m telescope at Mount Stromlo Observato
ry. This observation formed part of an ongoing periodical monitoring o
f this source. A 3.5-fold increase in the H alpha line intensity was s
een at this time, compared to normal levels. The observed flux remaine
d 20 per cent above the ambient level during a subsequent observation
made on 1994 May 12. An analysis of the daily X-ray data obtained by t
he BATSE detectors on board CGRO indicated the presence of a 10 day lo
ng interval of X-ray flaring activity in GX 1+4, which ended 2-3 days
prior to our observation of high H alpha flux. We argue that enhanced
H alpha emission most likely results from the reprocessing of soft X-r
ays produced in the accretion disk around the neutron star in this sym
biotic binary. This is the first time that a simultaneous optical and
X-ray event has been reported in this system, confirming V2116 Oph as
the companion to GX 1+4.