Introductory Astrononomy - Lesson #1

[Kaiia Blackthorn]

Kaiia watched with interest as the students began to draw the diagram. She ignored the sighs, even though she found them irritating for once. She did dislike the fact that some students took her class as a filler, assuming it would be an easy option, nothing but staring through a telescope while discussing their social lives.

Overhearing Andrew's whispered comment, she glanced at the diagram on the board. “You have a point, McDougal, though I wouldn't care to try riding a horse with those proportions.” A sudden memory of Damon teaching her to ride - he had been an avid horseman - made her frown, and she pushed it away. It was unusual for her to be distracted while teaching.

“However,” she continued after a moment, “as the Latin name should tell you, it's supposed to be the Great Bear. One can only assume that the ancients had very active imaginations, not having Quidditch to distract them,” she added, with the slightest emphasis on the word Quidditch, as she let her gaze rest on the two students who seemed to have no idea what they were doing here.

She knew they were all wondering why she wanted them to remember this particular constellation so clearly.

“Ursa Major is one of the most useful constellations to know. You can use it to find many other stars and constellations. Does anyone know what else the Big Dipper points to - besides the North Star?” she asked. She knew that wasn't in the text book, but they might have noticed some for themselves.

[JadieLou]

Danika didn't really like Blackthorn. She only took this class because she was told she had to. She could gaze at stars, that was Muggle stuff. That's all she needed to know. She tried to hold back a laugh as Blackthorn asked if any of them knew what else it pointed too.
"More stars," she murmured, leaning in close to Sam, who snickered softly behind his hand.

[Kaiia Blackthorn]

Kaiia's gaze swung around to the Slytherin girl. Of course, these students didn't know just how acute her hearing was, even when she wasn't in her animagus form.

“Two points from Slytherin for whispering in class; a further point from Slytherin - and from Ravenclaw,” she added, including Sam in her scathing glare, “for finding such a screamingly obvious comment amusing!” she snapped. It was plain that the girl didn't like her, so she was going to give her plenty of reason!

“Does anyone have a slightly more constructive contribution?”

[JadieLou]

Sam and Danika looked at each other and frowned. Points taken. Damn it.

Oops, Danika mouthed to Sam, who was trying hard not to laugh again. Screamingly obvious! I'll show you screamingly obvious you witch, Danika thought. She was seething now. She hated her. Blackthorn had just moved up a level, from dislike to hate.

[cinnabun1322]

Andrew looked at Bella and shrugged. He had absolutely no clue what the answer was. He hid a smirk as Sam had points deducted and couldn't help but feel slightly happy about it. After all it was usually him who got into trouble for talking.

[Kaiia Blackthorn]

Kaiia's eyes sparkled with relish when she saw the hate in Danika's eyes. Do your worst, child, she thought. I've been hated by some of the most powerful wizards in Europe, and I'm still here. It always added a little extra zest to a class when one of the students hated her, and she thought that Danika could prove to be a worthy opponent. There was a glimmer of approval in Kaiia's gaze in the moment before she looked away. The girl was a true Slytherin, she thought.

"Well, since no-one seems to have discovered any for themselves..."

She made a gesture with her hand, conjuring another diagram.



"Once you've found Polaris, draw a line from Mizar, through Polaris and continue it until you see a group of stars in an 'M' shape. This is the constellation Cassiopeia."

[isabellapeters]

Ohhh she hadn't remembered what it was but now the Professor had drawn out the map she realised what she'd forgotten. She took her quill out and drew more of the map out. She couldn't believe though that she had taken points away from Ravenclaw, Sam hadn't done a thing. She wasn't going to argue though and continued to draw in silence.

[Kaiia Blackthorn]

Jul 27, 2008 4:35:41 GMT 8 @isabellapeters said:

Ohhh she hadn't remembered what it was but now the Professor had drawn out the map she realised what she'd forgotten. She took her quill out and drew more of the map out. She couldn't believe though that she had taken points away from Ravenclaw, Sam hadn't done a thing. She wasn't going to argue though and continued to draw in silence.

Kaiia saw the flash of resentment on Isabella's face. Of course, the girl wouldn't have heard Sam laughing, so thought that Ravenclaw had lost points for nothing. Well, she wasn't about to explain herself! Besides, it kept the students on their toes if they thought a teacher might take points on a whim - provided she didn't overdo it.

When it became clear that the students weren't going to suggest any more pointers, she displayed the star map.





"As you can see, the Big Dipper also serves as a pointer to Cygnus, Cepheus, Auriga, Gemini, Leo, Bootes and Virgo." She looked at their blank faces. "Is it too much to hope that anyone realizes why I'm teaching you this?"

[JadieLou]

Danika taped her parchment with her nail and the diagram appeared on it. She looked up at Blackthorn and sighed.
"Becuase it's on the curriculum," she muttered, causing Sam to snicker again.

[isabellapeters]

Isabella raised her hand, "Because it helps us know where to look when we're star gazing."

[Kaiia Blackthorn]

Kaiia sighed. Perhaps Danika wasn't going to be quite the worthy opponent she'd hoped. She nodded at Isabella. At least the girl was making an effort. "That's the general idea."

Her glance flicked briefly towards Danika. "But strictly speaking, this particular lecture is not on the curriculum. Strangely enough, it's intended to assist you in your exam." She leant on her desk and looked at each student in turn. It surprised her that she needed to spell it out to students of their age - her students at Durmstrang had, for the most part, grasped the practicality of what she was teaching today.

"When you take your NEWTs, the practical part of the exam will account for fifty percent of your mark. You will have a large number of deep sky objects to observe, and a very limited amount of time in which to do it. The faster you can locate the constellations where they're found, the more marks you will gain on the exam, and the higher your final grade will be. You may all be assuming that you will never need to know this stuff. In most cases, this is true. But a poor, or even failing grade on any NEWT will reflect badly on you whatever career you plan to follow."

She straightened up, erasing the diagram from the blackboard with a casual wave.

"Continuing... Ursa Major is the third largest of the constellations. Only Hydra and Virgo are larger. Which are the two brightest stars in Ursa Major?"

[isabellapeters]

Isabella raised her hand, "Professor the two brightest stars in Ursa Major are Dubhe and Alioth."

[Kaiia Blackthorn]

"That's right. And what time of year can you observe it at its highest point in the sky?"

When she'd finished covering the basics from the text book, Kaiia thought, she would introduce some material that might give her an idea of whether Isabella was merely a conscientious student - which of course was admirable - or if she had a real interest in the subject. Kaiia smiled sardonically to herself. She might be an absolute b***h when she put her mind to it, but she did love the subject she taught, and it was gratifying when she discovered a student who shared that love.

[isabellapeters]

Bella thought for a moment she knew this, she knew she knew this. There were two choices, she just had to pick the correct one. "Isn't it between February to May when you can see it at the highest point in the sky?" she asked.

[Kaiia Blackthorn]

"Correct. Five points to Ravenclaw."

Kaiia picked up her wand. Dry facts and figures were a little tedious, even when one loved astronomy. The next part of the lesson was usually better received.

"There are some interesting deep sky objects in Ursa Major." She gestured with her wand, and a representation of a spiral galaxy appeared, hanging in the air, revolving slowly.





"This is M101, otherwise known as the Pinwheel galaxy. It lies approximately 27 million lightyears away. Can someone define a lightyear for the class?"