Home›Sources›A series of observations on, and a discovery of, the period of the variation of the light of the bright star in the head of Medusa, called AlgolSourcesA series of observations on, and a discovery of, the period of the variation of the light of the bright star in the head of Medusa, called AlgolCitation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "A series of observations on, and a discovery of, the period of the variation of the light of the bright star in the head of Medusa, called Algol." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/a-series-of-observations-on-and-a-discovery-of-the-period-of-the-variation-of-the-light-of-the-bright-star-in-the-head-of-medusa-called-algol.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). A series of observations on, and a discovery of, the period of the variation of the light of the bright star in the head of Medusa, called Algol. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/a-series-of-observations-on-and-a-discovery-of-the-period-of-the-variation-of-the-light-of-the-bright-star-in-the-head-of-medusa-called-algolCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-a-series-of-observations-on-and-a-discov, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {A series of observations on, and a discovery of, the period of the variation of the light of the bright star in the head of Medusa, called Algol}, year = {2026}, url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/a-series-of-observations-on-and-a-discovery-of-the-period-of-the-variation-of-the-light-of-the-bright-star-in-the-head-of-medusa-called-algol}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXJohn Goodricke's 1783 paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society is the primary scientific record of his own discovery. Its strength is that it is Goodricke's own observations and reasoning, establishing Algol's 2.867 day period and proposing occultation by a dark body, in effect the eclipsing binary model, a century before it was confirmed, work he did at eighteen years old. Its limit is that it reflects only what could be established from eighteenth century observation, not the later physics that confirmed the mechanism.FactsClaims Backed By This Source (8 claims)Comments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)FactsAssessmentReliability TierWell-attested1Reliability tier 1: the primary scientific record of its own discovery, a young observer's own observations and reasoning reflecting only what could be established from eighteenth century observation.NotesWell-attestedEstablished Algol's 2.867-day period and proposed occultation by a dark body - effectively the eclipsing-binary model, a century before it was confirmed. Goodricke was eighteen.CitationAuthorWell-attestedJohn GoodrickePublisherWell-attestedPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol. 73, pp. 474-482Publication YearWell-attested1783Source TypeWell-attestedJournal article (primary)Claims Backed By This Source (8 claims)This source backs 8 claims across the atlas. As facts: 7 well-attested. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.Disposition By TopicSources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.Fixed Stars, 1 claims: 1 general references.Well-attested7SourcesA series of observations on, and a discovery of, the period of the variation of the light of the bright star in the head of Medusa, called AlgolGeneral References1Fixed StarsAlgolComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year