They are made of bluish, "smoked," or almost black coloured glass, and are of very various shapes, according to the amount of obscuration necessary.
About 56 Algol variables were known in 1907; the variables of this class are the most difficult to detect, for the short period of obscuration may easily escape notice unless the star is watched continuously.
The areas of the sky which contain heavy obscuration usually exhibit clouds of several degrees of opacity.
The optical data allows a study of the dust obscuration.
C. Vogel's spectroscopic measures in 1889.2 Previously to each obscuration, the star was found to be moving rapidly away from the earth; its velocity then diminished to zero pari passu with the loss of light, and reversed its direction during the process of recovery.
