Introductory Astrononomy - Lesson #1

[isabellapeters]

Bella saw Danika and Sam's reactions and smiled sheepishly. She had read the books over the summer whilst tanning in Italy, and since there was nothing else to do she had just read and read. As Professor Blackthorn asked another question she raised her hand again this time waiting a moment to see if anyone else would answer. "The Big Dipper is a famous Asterism, it's found in the constallation Ursa Major isn't it?" she asked, unsure about the last part.

[cinnabun1322]

Andrew smirked at Bella. Ms. Perfect. He chuckled to himself and raised his hand, "The Big Dipper is a well known asterism, professor." He looked at Bella surprised as they answered together.

[isabellapeters]

Isabella looked at him as he answered just as she did and raised one eyebrow. She hadn't been expecting him to answer that was for sure, especially with the right answer. "Well done," she mouthed to him.

[Kaiia Blackthorn]

"Correct on both points. I'm glad to see some of you paid attention to the textbook!" Her eyes flickered briefly to the students who were exchanging baffled glances. "However, practical observation may also have taught you something about this particular asterism. Does anyone know why the Big Dipper is a useful one to know when you're observing the sky? You may have used this feature of it yourselves." Kaiia waited with interest to see if anyone knew the answer to this question.

[stkay]

Nathan thought for a moment and after raising his hand he answered, "Maybe because it tells us where the North is?" he said, unsure if that was it.

[isabellapeters]

Bella raised her hand, "The north star is found in the Big Dipper and tells us where north is." She smiled at Nathan, he had gotten it right too, she thought.

[cinnabun1322]

Andrew grinned and mouthed thanks to Bella. Raising his hand again, "Because the handle of the Big Dipper points to the North Star showing you where North is at night."

[Kaiia Blackthorn]

Kaiia turned to look at the first student. "Correct, Mr...?" She glanced at her class list. Had he not signed up for the class, or was it merely a clerical error? His tie, however, marked him as a Ravenclaw, so she added, "Another two housepoints each for Ravenclaw, and one for Gryffindor," she added, nodding towards Andrew. "You have the right idea, but your answer was not quite correct."

She picked up her wand and gestured towards the blackboard, so that an image of the sky appeared.



"This is what you see when you look at the Big Dipper..." She gestured again, and a number of lines connected the stars.


"As you can see, by following an imaginary line up from the two stars that form the front - the bowl - of the dipper, you can find the North Star - which is also known as...?"

[isabellapeters]

Isabella raised her hand, "The North Star is also known as Polaris, professor." She smiled at Nathan, happy that he had managed to earn 2 more points for Ravenclaw.

[cinnabun1322]

Andrew sat back, he didn't know the answer to that one. But he was almost sure Bella probably did and wasn't disappointed when she answered. "Ms. Perfect," he mumbled under his breath so only Bella could hear and began fiddling with his quill on his desk.

[stkay]

"Nathaniel Asthore, Professor" he said, answering an unanswered question to the Professor, and nodded at Isabella's answer, that's how it was also called.

[Kaiia Blackthorn]

“Good. By finding Polaris - which sits almost exactly on the celestial north pole - you can orient yourself facing north, which will make it easier to locate other constellations.” Kaiia glanced at her copy of the textbook and frowned. “Incidentally, your textbooks fail to mention that two of the stars in the Big Dipper have alternative names. Phad is also known as Phekda, and Alkiad may also be referred to as Benetnasch.” She tapped the textbook with her wand. “Your own textbooks have been updated to include that information. Other stars may also have alternative names.”

Kaiia turned to the blackboard again, and cleared the last image, replacing it with a simple diagram. “This is the entire constellation Ursa Major, with the stars of the Big Dipper labeled. Please copy this diagram into your notebooks - without magic! You'll remember it better if you draw it by hand.”





ooc: Sorry guys - it's 3.20am for me, so I'm going to bed!

[JadieLou]

Sam and Danika exchanged another look of extreme confusion and took out a piece of parchment each. They were so confused, their Quidditch filled brains unable to take all this in.

Danika sighed heavily as she took out a piece of parchment and dipped her quill in the sapphire ink. She put her quill to the page and copied exactly the diagram on the board, carefully labelling each star. She sighed when she looked down at it. At least she could still draw.

Sam took out a piece of parchment and dipped his quill in his ink then started to draw the diagram. He looked down at it once he finished it and sighed. Drawing skills are shot! he thought. He looked over to Danika's perfect drawing and gave her a frown. Why did she have to be so good at everything?

[cinnabun1322]

Andrew looked at the chart and mentally groaned. He picked up the quill he had been fiddling with and dipped it in the ink. On the parchment that he had placed on his desk he began drawing out the diagram and he chuckled. Leaning in close to Bella so she could hear him he whispered, "Doesn't this look like some malformed horse?" He began writing down the names and realized he had flipped about half of them. Scratching them out he wrote in the right names and glanced at Bella and her drawing.

[stkay]

Nathan nodded. No magic to draw this. He simply took his quill again and started to copy the same diagram into his parchment. When he finished, he compared, it didn't look that bad, after all.