The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-11-15
AIgol, the Demon star.

AIkOIS tue DetuOu SluIa
FiWI he PrOridene6 Journal.
In the constellation Perseus shines q star
to which the Ancicnts gave the nnmc OF
AlgOl, or the Demon 1t Is the brightest
starin the head Of Nedusa, which the roy
d champion 0f distressed womanlO0ll
holds in his hand. Itmay be easily found,
us It lies between the wCll.knOwn clusters
Of CassiOpeia and the Pleiades, and when
ut It's brightest Is q STIR OF the second mNg'
nitudc, shining witLa lustro between that
Of AldCbaran and AlyCOne.
1t belongs to the ClnSs Of inv9riablCsI sIarsr
and alternates from. tho second TO the
fourth magnitude. Its variability was
noted in ancient times, As its name inIli-
Gates; but the rcdiscOvery Of its varihbill.
" and the determination Of It's pcriOd'arc
due to Mr.. John Goodrich, OF York Eng
land, who determined It's periodical varig.
tion at 9tlays, 90 hours, 4S minutes Dur.
ing 2 days "A hours Of 5tllis fine, Algol
appears Of the second magnitude; the re'
mining six and thrce.quartcrs hours are
occupied by the gradual decline Of The
star 10 the fourth magnitude, und then It's
gradual return 10 the second. A good
eye will easily detect these changes.
Varions causes have been given To nc.
count for this appearance. lIcrSchel at
tributCd It 10 spots Of the surface, and to
u motion on his axis like that Of our sun,
by which dark spots or less luminous por.
ttfOns turned alternately towards lis cause
n change inhis lustrG.- Some astronomers
advance the opinion that Algol iSa lumi.
nous secondary revolving around an
Opaque primary. Others think that m
Opnquc secondary transits Algol nj rcgu'
lHr intervals. # ~
N A writer in ChqmberSa journal, adopt.
ling the last hypothesis, las, collected tho
IFtSulIS ntrecent Investigations Onthis star,
(which from the earliest astronomical ~.
cords Inns been M object Of curious inter
lest to observers. The .IamOus astronomer
liI.alande, who died at Paris In 1907, was
accustomed in his old AgC to remain whole
nights on the POnt Neui, watching It's va
rialions and pointing them out to all who
were willing to take interest In them. III
these observations the spectrOscOpG can
give no aid; for II only reveals the condt'
ton md constituents Of the distant sun
neither Is the telescope Of my available
use, Tor It fails TO give any appearance OF a
disk To tue point Of dazzling brightness
which It develops. Tho tnatded eye car
alone note tho changes, while the eye UI
reason can alone form il theory adapted tu
iho observation.
Thus modern rGSulrchihas invested this
distant orb with MI interest attached tC
no other, Tor II Is the only instance thus
I a., -, .,Ctsn,,r,,,;COI F,lCOrf1l NvitnrtN thl
passage OF n dark planet can bc traced
4 around central sun. Three different
facls In Algol's history have been mn1t
objects of special study. Those arc his
- great and varyipg splendor, his small den
4 si,v, and the tliiuinuliUn Of his periWl
Tic following Is the theory which nc
counts inr lis variability: AIg0l is u SUI
like o,,r sun, only immensely larger IN size
I and Inns n propor,;Onally large planet re-
yolyinr around him, which, when passing
heiwcSn ia and him. ObsCurcs his light
For two tIays and fourteen hours the stu
il of tho sucOntl magnitude. Then com
nlenccs the transit Of the satellite over IL
disk OccupyinE about six hours and three
Quarters. For about three hours and I
half, tic light (liminiSlles a. lhe satellite
adyanCes On the stlr' 's.tlsk, until reaching
its minimum Il appears to us Ns stnr o.
lhc fourth magnitude. The light tlICI
gradually increases for three hours and {
6nli until tho planet no longer Ollscuret
0nr vision. and AlEOl shines again will
his nrimeval brightness mill his pcriOi
IL CONNECTED, when the dark planet AgNil
hirICS IIs light repeating Ghc process VI
have dcscribcd. =
The star il tr,O distant for tho ,tQlcsrOpc
. tn reveal "A disk, and we can only estimate
Ihc comnHra,iye dimensions Of tic sun ant
MIsnct Lv noting tho brightness which
j varies in nropOrtion TO tho part Cclipsctl
II Is found that the planet obscnres seven
teen twunty.fOurtls Of the disk Of Algol
Therefore their (liametcrs will 10 to CaGt
En,hcr ma Ior,y.nine 10 iorty.onc, or five t.
. iomr. The planet Inns then fonr.Gifllls o
I ihe size of AIrol. We have little itleH Ii
our systcm Of a satellite Of such ginn
nrODortions. (Or even Jupiter has only
one.tcnth OF the diameter Of the sun. Bu
VIC know there arc many Systems In tilt
universe where suns rcv0Ivc around suns
and We can readily imagine the possibility
ut an immense saiellite revolving NrOIInt
a primary. In like manner, from tho fac
TINT for about u tCnth Of the time occupied
Lin a revolution tic sntcllitc Is crossing tlIl
disk, calculations have been mHte In re
pnrll TO tho distance Of AlgOl and his ut
L ien,InnL The result gives for tho ratlil D
AldGl,,'lis attendant, aud their distance
ni,Srt i6e prDDOrtion Of tho numbers 40
II 99O N We allow Algol A9,000,00
mics in diameter, tho planet viii haYc
,Ii"m.lrr Or Al 600. 600 miles, and tIlcl
distance npnFt viii bO 29O, ,O00,0 900 miles,
I Inirrrating observations have likcwis
+ ,ccn made On tlle (Icnsity OF AIgOl. Sine
a., In"w IN" rrlniiyo EiZa and distance q
, 'Ho ~" I t~" hN,lics their time Of revolution |
NY "" s',iI ~ IEcIr Tv,,FSOp density. lBron