Algol (β Per) is a bright eclipsing binary system located in the northern constellation of Perseus and one of the best-known variable stars in the sky. Often referred to as the "Demon Star" most of the time it shines at mag. +2.1 but every two days, 20 hours and 49 minutes the star suddenly dips in brightness to mag. +3.4, remaining dim for about 10 hours before returning to its original state.
Why the change in brightness? The Algol system consists of at least three-stars (β Per A, β Per B and β Per C) with the orbital plane of Algol A and B directly in line with the Earth. The regular dips in brightness occur when the dimmer B star moves in front of and eclipses the brighter A star. There is also an extra dimension in that a secondary eclipse occurs when the brighter star occults the fainter secondary resulting in a very small dip in brightness that can be detected with photo-electrical equipment.
Algol is located in Perseus among the stars of the northern Milky Way. It's positioned west of mag. +0.1 star Capella (α Aur) and southeast of the well known "W" of Cassiopeia. The finder chart below shows the position of Algol along with magnitude data of some surrounding stars for comparative purposes.
Finder Chart for Algol (credit:- freestarcharts) - pdf format
For those new to variable star observing, Algol is an excellent first choice target. It dims quite dramatically and the regular brightness changes are obvious to the naked eye. The table below contains date and time information of Algol's minima for September 2016 for various World time zones that cover most regions of Europe, America, China and Australia. For time zones not listed, local eclipse times can be calculated by adjusting the table to fit to the observers local time.
Algol Minima for September 2016
Date | Time (UT-GMT) | Time (BST-UK) | Time (CEST-Europe) | Time (EDT-N America) | Time (PDT-N America) | Time (CST-China) | Time (AEST-Australia) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 01 | 05:14 | 06:14 | 07:14 | 01:14 | 22:14 (Aug 31) | 13:14 | 15:14 |
Sep 04 | 02:03 | 03:03 | 04:03 | 22:03 (Sep 03) | 19:03 (Sep 03) | 10:03 | 12:03 |
Sep 06 | 22:51 | 23:51 | 00:51 (Sep 07) | 18:51 | 15:51 | 06:51 (Sep 07) | 08:51 (Sep 07) |
Sep 09 | 19:40 | 20:40 | 21:40 | 15:40 | 12:40 | 03:40 (Sep 10) | 05:40 (Sep 10) |
Sep 12 | 16:29 | 17:29 | 18:29 | 12:29 | 09:29 | 00:29 (Sep 13) | 02:29 (Sep 13) |
Sep 15 | 13:18 | 14:18 | 15:18 | 09:18 | 06:18 | 21:18 | 23:18 |
Sep 18 | 10:06 | 11:06 | 12:06 | 06:06 | 03:06 | 18:06 | 20:06 |
Sep 21 | 06:55 | 07:55 | 08:55 | 02:55 | 23:55 (Sep 20) | 14:55 | 16:55 |
Sep 24 | 03:44 | 04:44 | 05:44 | 23:44 (Sep 23) | 20:44 (Sep 23) | 11:44 | 13:44 |
Sep 27 | 00:32 | 01:32 | 02:32 | 20:32 (Sep 26) | 17:32 (Sep 26) | 08:32 | 10:32 |
Sep 29 | 21:21 | 22:21 | 23:21 | 17:21 | 14:21 | 05:21 (Sep 30) | 07:21 (Sep 30) |