World Name: Algol

Reports From the Front

by William H. Keith, jr.

The following entry is an excerpt from The Navigator's Guide to the Inner Sphere, the 32-volume compendium of explored worlds published by ComStar Press Interstellar, Terra. Algol was first printed in Volume 5, The Mirach Reach, and is reproduced here by permission of the publisher.

STELLAR DATA
Catalogue #NSC D 2-334-109
Star: Algol
Type: GO V;
Mass: 1.04 Sol;
Luminosity: 1.21 Sol;
Radius: 1.03 Sol

SYSTEM DATA
Planetary System: 8 major bodies, 2 asteroid belts

PLANETARY DATA
Plenet IV: Algol, Brieman's Star IV
Mean Orbital Radius: 1.02 a.u.
Orbital Eocentricily: .004
Period. 368.9 days
Mass: 1.2 Earth
Equatorial Diameter: 9450 km (.74 Earth)
Mean Planetary Density: 6.07 g/cml (1. 1 Earth)
Mean Surface Gravity:.74 G
Escape Velocity: 8.3 kps
Rotational Period., 22 h 13 m 42.4 s
Axial Inclination: 12 deg. 16' 21.5"
Satellites: 1 (Planetary body at 105 planetary diameters)
Atmosphere: N2 77%; 02 22%; other 1 %.
Atmospheric pressure .9 atm; PP02.198
Temperature Range: 30 deg C.+ at equator to -30 deg C. at poles
Mean Distance to JumpPoint., 6.68 a.u.
Planetary Population: 2.7 billion (est. 3025)

Planetary Notes

The name Algol is an old one in the human history of the heavens. The name comes from the Arabic Al Ra's al Ghul, meaning "the Demon's Head," and was originally applied to the star Beta Perseus.

This original Algol is a B8 V star, far too young, hot, and massive to have formed a planetary system of its own. Even if Beta Perseus was of a type which could have planets, the presence of a large companion star less than 11 million kilometers from the primary would be sufficient to completely disrupt any planets as they were forming.

Algol was well known to early astronomers, for even with the naked eye it could be observed to dim periodically. Later, it was realized that this variability was caused by an unseen companion star orbiting the brighter star. The orbit of this companion was such that it periodically passed between Earth and the primary star, causing it to dim sharply in partial eclipse every 2.8 days.

It is now known that this companion is larger and brighter than Earth's sun, but the brightness of Beta Perseus A long kept it hidden. The unusual and easily noted variability of this star in what was perceived as a perfect and unchanging heaven may well have led men to first call Algol "the Demon Star."

Algol lies nearly 100 light years from Earth. In 2267, the explorer ship Vanguard, under command of Captain Josiah Brieman, first approached Beta Perseus, making a series of observations and studies. He found the system, as expected, barren of planets. During the survey, a star quite similar to Sol in size, age, and luminosity was discovered less than three light years from Algol. The star, named Brieman's Star, was investigated and found to have a planetary family. The fourth of those worlds was habitable.

In one of those curious twistings of nomenclature common to the history of stellar exploration, it was not long before Brieman's Star IV became known, in turn, as Algol. Certainly, the real Algol dominates the night sky of the world for the half of each year it is visible. During the other half of the year, from most latitudes, Alpha Perseus is visible as a faint spark of white light even during the day, if the observer knows just where to look for it. When Beta Perseus shines high in the night sky, it is a radiant, diamond-bright beacon bright enough to cast shadows and allow the reading of relatively fine print.

Algol--Brieman's Star IV--is a pleasant world, if somewhat drier and hotter than Earth. Its surface is divided into small, shallow, interlocking seas and a single large ocean. Land regions are predominantly desert, but there are broad belts of agricultural land, forest, prairie, and jungle. The ice caps are small, the average surface temperature somewhat higher than that of Earth.

Algol is self-sufficient in food stuffs and in most industry. In recent years, it has developed a modest reputation as an industrial center. Numerous factories and technological assembly plants dot its surface, and the SolarHigh AeroTech fighter plant is located a few kilometers west of Kollasa.

The world is regarded as an important part of the Liao defense complex and is heavily protected by AeroSpace fighter squadrons and ground-based missile batteries. At last report, the 1st Ariana Fusiliers were responsible for Algol's defense.

News from the Front

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