The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-09-07
THE SEPTEMBER HEAVENS.
BY GEORGE t. HUGHES.

soeiOA ia tuO uOIbuCd5b QutluS bu0
fine September evenings. Cassiopeia,
Andromeda and Perseus are in that
portion of the heavens and afford
mine of wonders. Cassiopeia is easily
recognized by the five bright stars in
zig-zag row which on the 18th of
the month are high in the northeast
at 9 o'clock in the evening. They
are directly opposite the clipper"
then swinging around the pole star
low in the northwest. The collection
of stars below Cassiopeia is Perseus,
and here may be found that wonder
full variable Algol. called by the
Arabs the Demon star. The third
and fourth of the five bright stars of
Cassiopeia, beginning to count with
the one highest in the heavens, point
directly to bright row of stars in
Perseus. To the right of this row is
a group Of stars, the brightest of
which is Algol. This strange object
shines as second magnitude star for
two days and half; and then sinks
to the fourth magnitude in about
four hours and half. In another
four hours and half it resumes its
former brilliancy. The time from
minimum to minimum is nearly two
days, 20 hours and 49 minutes, SO
that having once observed a mini
mum, you may easily calculate when
the next one is to be expected. At
eight o'clock on the evening of Sep
tember 21 Algol is shining as bright
ly as ever. At about $50 it begins to
decrease in brightness and the mini
mum is due at o'clock in the morn
ing. On the oath of the month a
minimum is due at 10 o'clock in the
evening. These times are only ap-
proximate and are given in Eastern
standard. Algol once found will
prove very entertaining object to
watch with an opera-glass as it passes
through these remarkable changes in
light.
The theory which most satisfactori-
ly accounts for the variable character
of Algol's light is that there is large
dark companion revolving about
Algol and at regular intervals cutting
off portion of its light. Startling
as such supposition at first seems,
it has the general acceptance of those
astronomers who have studied the
problem. Because all the stars known
to us are luminous, is no assurance
that the universe may not contain
bodies throwing out no light of their
own and rejecting little or none from
their neighbors. OF course the COM
panion of Algol must be almost as
large as the variable itself, to have
such an effect on its light. Algol is
not the only star in the heavens
which exhibits these changes in
brightness. There are large num-
Der of variable stars, all less bright
than Algol, however, which display
the same changes and make dis
tinct class of variable stars. The in
terval between the light minima of
Algol undergoes a periodic variation
in about 131 years. The mathemati-
cal theories proposed to explain this
are too complex for discussion here.
They depend on the relations of the
orbits of Algol and its dark compan-
ion.
None of the planets are very con-
spicuous during September. Sharp
eyed observers may glimpse Mercury
in the west after sunset during the
last week of the month, although, he
does not reach his greatest distance
east of the sun until October l, and
does not attain his greatest brilliancy
until seven days later. He cannot be
seen so we'll at this elongation as last
June, because of his increased south
ern declination. Venus ends her
course as evening star this month by
coming into conjunction with the sun
on the 18th, and when next we see the
queenly planet it will be before sum
rise in the early morning. Mars is
still an evening STAR" but too faint
and near the sun to be of much inter-
est. He will be in conjunction with
the sun on the 11th of next month.
Jupiter is visible in the early morning
between Gemini and Cancer. The
giant planet will soon claim the at
tention of the amateur astronomer.
Saturn can be seen in the early even
ing between Virgo and Libra to the
southeast of Spica. Uranus is in
Libra and Neptune in Taurus.
Neither presents any feature of un-
usual interest.
Among recent items of news in
planetarv astronomy. the claim of