- Halloween

Ghosts and demons roam the Halloween night. Vampires and zombies are there, too. So are black widows and Gorgons, witches and snakes and dragons – enough scary creatures to fill a galaxy of haunted houses. You’ll see some of them wandering the streets in search of treats. And if you look up, they’re all there in the stars.
As night falls, the star Algol is in the northeast, in Perseus the hero. Its name means “the demon star.” It represents Medusa, a monster who turned anyone who looked at her to stone. Her sisters – the other Gorgons – are represented by some fainter stars around Algol.
The constellation Cetus is low in the east and southeast. It represents a sea monster that was defeated by Perseus – using the head of Medusa.
The Witch Head Nebula climbs into view in late evening. It’s a cloud of gas and dust that’s being both illuminated and sculpted by Rigel, the brightest star of Orion. Through a telescope, it really does look like the profile of a witch.
Many “ghosts” float through the sky as well. They’re star clusters or the last gasps of dying stars – named for their ghostly appearance.
The vampires and zombies and black widows are all “dead” stars that are sucking the life from their companion stars. They’re all invisible – none of them is bright enough to see with the eye alone. But they’re sprinkled through the galaxy, haunting the skies of Halloween night – and every other night as well.
Script by Damond Benningfield