My first Magazine Sky & Telescope - 02.2019 | Page 38

VARIABLE STARS
by Linda French
Explaining A
HEAD OF THE GORGON The name Algol comes from
– l, which translates to
the Arabic phrase ra 2 s al-ghu
“head of the demon,” but the star has been associated
with Medusa, the Gorgon of Greek mythology, at least
since Ptolemaic times.
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FE B RUA RY 2 019 • SK Y & TELESCOPE