2006-11-05 01:17:51 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
It's very name, Algol, comes from the Arabic Al Gol, or the ghoul. One of it's common names is the Demon Star. It is, indeed, an eclipsing binary, with a period (I believe) around 2.9 days. There are actually two maxima and two minima. The dimmest minima comes when the large very dim (to us) star very nearly eclipses the brighter of the pair, missing only a small portion of the bright one. About 1.45 days later, when the small one eclipse the larger one, there is a small drop in the total light output.
2006-11-05 06:29:54 · answer #1 · answered by David A 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's brightness can vary because it's actually an eclipsing binary (two stars orbit each other and we see their brightness change as one star passes in front of another).
2006-11-05 01:42:54 · answer #2 · answered by Roman Soldier 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes -- it's looking at me kind of funny.
2006-11-05 01:42:39 · answer #3 · answered by stevewbcanada 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/binaries/algol.html
this is rather lovely
2006-11-05 02:04:04 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wait. I will look.
2006-11-05 01:20:27 · answer #5 · answered by Isis 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋