Article November 20, 1902 Issue

Our Winter Sky

Scientific American

The constellations whose outlines are associated with winter begin to appear again in the eastern sky. At nine o'clock in the evening, during the middle of November, Cassiopeia is almost overhead, directly above the Pole star. It can be recognized as a zigzag line of fairly bright stars.

The next group to the eastward, along the Milky Way, is Perseus. The remarkable variable star Algol is the southernmost of its two conspicuous stars, and lies between Cassiopeia and the Pleiades, somewhat nearer the latter group. For most of the time this star is of nearly the second magnitude, but at intervals of about three days, it runs down to the fourth magnitude, remaining at this brightness for about twenty minutes, while the rise and fall in brightness occupy about four hours each.

The variability of this star is believed to be due to the presence of a dark companion, which partially eclipses it at every revolution.

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