Right now in January, there is an interesting object to watch in the night sky. In fact, there is an interesting constellation to observe with binoculars and an interesting variable star to observe with a telescope. The constellation is Perseus and the variable star is Algol.

Perseus and Algol can be seen in northern hemisphere, above latitude 48, all year long. In meridian they can be seen in early January around 10 pm. Algol is one of the best known stars in Perseus, which is a variable star. This article provides you few tips for finding Perseus and Algol.

Perseus is located right between Cassiopeia and Taurus (here is a little bit about Taurus). Andromeda galaxy is located in western side of Perseus. Variable star Algol is located in 93 light years from the Earth and the stars are approximately 3.2 and 3.4 times the diameter of the Sun. They are located so close to each other that it is not possible for amateurs to see them separated. Stars circulate around each other in three days. Variable nature of the star is caused when the star with less intensity circulates over the other one. During this 10 hour period the intensity of the variable star system drops dramatically. This kind of variable star is also called as “eclipsing binary”.

In order to locate Perseus and Algol, find first constellation Orion. Next locate constellation Cassiopeia (here is a little bit about Cassiopeia). If you do not know where those mentioned constellations are, please read my earlier articles by clicking the previous two links. You can also locate Taurus if you want. It might can also help you to find Perseus and Algol. Now that you have located Orion and the brightest star in it (Betelgeuse) as well as Cassiopeia and its brightest star (Shedir), you can use them to find Algol and Perseus. “Draw a line” in your mind from Betelgeuse to Shedir, just like shown in the figures on left side. As you see, Perseus is almost in the middle of that line. Location of Algol is shown with an arrow.

Was this helpful? Please, leave a comment if you cannot find Perseus and Algol with this information and I will try providing better tips.