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Catch the "Demon Star"
Note: Next eclipse is Dec. 23. Algol, a.k.a. "The Demon Star" has some very well-timed eclipses for the month of December. It's a very bright naked-eye object and an entire eclipse can be seen in 4-5 hours. It's great training for epsilon Aurigae!
Algol is also known as beta Persei, meaning that it is more or less the second brightest star in Perseus. Eclipses vary from roughly magnitude 2.1 to 3.3 during an eclipse. It is brighter than epsilon Aurigae and can be seen from heavily light polluted areas. An entire eclipse lasts about 4-5 hours. Compare it with epsilon Aurigae which lasts up to two years. So this is a chance to see an entire eclipse in one evening and rack up lots of observations. A chart for observing it is in the 10 Star Tutorial.
There are four December eclipses of Algol which all begin or take place early in the evening, making them even more favorable for observing. I have placed the schedule of the eclipses in our December Events Calendar.
Chris Stephan has posted a quick guide to observing Algol in the Visual Observing Forum. Check it out for further advice on how to observe this star. Remember to submit your data as well! We'll be issuing certificates to anyone who observes and reports an Algol eclipse.
The times are eastern standard. I edited the entries in the calendar to reflect this. Thanks.
This is so cool. I've never knew there were such a "Demon Star". That's really fascinating. This would a great inspiration when I'm writing essay and I could also use this as an essay topic for my research project in school. Thanks for sharin resourceful links.