Perseus looks somewhat like a lopsided K, and Algol is located along one of the upper arms, just a few degrees from the bright star Mirfak. You can easily hunt down the winking demon star in Perseus, which sits near the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia. That makes Algol appear to fade and brighten noticably over time. From our vantage point 93 light-years away, the two stars look like one, but they are lined up so that one star eclipses the other roughly every three days. Algol, which means “ghoul’s head,” is actually two stars that orbit each other. As the legend goes, anyone who dared look at her would instantly be turned to stoned.Īdding to the creepiness, the monster’s eye appears to wink at us. The star represents the eye of the snake-haired monster Medusa from ancient Greek mythology. The naked-eye star Algol sits in the constellation Perseus, which will be rising high in the northeastern evening sky on Halloween. Keen eyed trick-or-treaters can also hunt down a stellar ghoul. This Halloween night, the waxing gibbous moon will be hanging high in the southern sky, casting a pale, silvery light over costumed revelers. (Find out how countries around the world are reacting to the spread of modern Halloween festivities.) Cultures around the world also believed that the moon could drive people mad-the word “lunacy” is derived from the Latin moon goddess, Luna. They believed that it would roam across the sky, stalking hapless individuals wandering out at night and gobbling them up. Get a crash course in lunar science.Įarth’s sole natural companion, the moon is the largest and brightest object in the night sky, so it’s not surprising that it has been the source of countless scary stories in cultures around the world.Ĭenturies ago, the Aztec civilization in Mexico and the Maori culture of New Zealand had ominous legends associated with the moon. Long before Neil Armstrong took his "one small step" in 1969, humans were mesmerized by the moon.
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