As Halloween approaches, find the Ghoul Star of Perseus

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Tonight for October 29, 2011

As Halloween approaches, try looking for the star Beta Persei, otherwise known as Algol in the constellation Perseus. This star’s proper name comes from the Arabic for head of the ghoul, or head of the demon.

Halloween derived from ancient Celtic cross-quarter day

This star is known to vary in brightness over a regular time interval. The cycle lasts 2 days, 20 hours and 49 minutes. All the while, the star remains visible to the eye. Algol’s brightness variations are not due to some special quality of a single star. In fact, this is a multiple star system, where one star regularly passes in front of another as seen from our earthly perspective.

More on Algol: The Demon Star

Early stargazers had no way to know why Algol varied in brightness. But it’s likely that they did notice this star’s brightness change. Throughout parts of the ancient world, Algol was associated with demons or monsters. The Greeks and Romans identified the star with the Head of Medusa, a fearful monster with snakes in place of hair. The star has also been called The Ghoul Star.

Arcturus is a Halloween ghost of the summer sun

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5 Responses to As Halloween approaches, find the Ghoul Star of Perseus

  1. dinpuii hranleh says:

    really3 luv this site!

  2. bela says:

    its snowing, in october! Odd to still have pink flowers in the garden. Like little specs reaching out to touch them…they try to stick to your fingers. I need to listen to prince.

  3. james says:

    cool but not what i am looking for

  4. Estrella says:

    very interesting!
    gracias

  5. attackattack says:

    Still snowing. And that is the end of that stori.

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