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Old 09-12-2015, 01:47 PM   #173 (permalink)
sweetpinkpixie

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Hogwarts RPG Name:
Briallen Ashburry-Hawthorne
Gryffindor
First Year

Hogwarts RPG Name:
Nyle Harden
Hufflepuff
Second Year

Hogwarts RPG Name:
Iris Harden
Ravenclaw
Second Year

Hogwarts RPG Name:
Calliope Barrington
Slytherin
First Year

Hogwarts RPG Name:
Diamond Marchbanks
Gryffindor
Sixth Year

Ministry Department Head:
Charles Hollingberry
Minister's Office

Ministry Department Head:
Airey Flamsteed
Mysteries

Diagon Alley Proprietor:
Zachaël Lufkin
Owl Post

x12 x12
Default
astronomizzle ♧ gryffinDORK | & the rest is drag ♣ #badluckDerf

SPOILER!!: ANGEL D:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry174 View Post
Angel just stared, simply stared at Admiral Flamsteed, wasn't he supposed to protect her from things like this being an Admiral an all. All this was doing was reminding her of the devastation that was caused by a certain someone on the train ride here.

Angel raised her hand "The one closest to the ground didn't cause much damage because he was being friendly and giving the ground a friendly nudge, but as we got further away from the ground the damage done was greater because well that rock was hurtling towards the ground at such a high speed it caused a lot of destruction."

Angel tried to figure out question two but couldn't. "Sorry Admiral, I can't figure out question two because all I can see is the destruction that has been caused by all three rocks." Angel sighed truthfully, it was seriously like life really one minute you were side by side the next it was hurting you badly. She had no idea how close Astronomy was to real life.

Angel then listened to question three. "I think the speed is the most important part because the more speed it has the faster and the more devastation the break.... I mean the more devastation the rock will have when it impacts with the ground." Angel then went back to looking at the mess that everything had caused.

The man’s palms were most DEFINITELY growing sweaty and no amount of flapping and swatting would keep all THAT angst away from him. He just...got the feeling that she wasn’t talking about rocks, you know?

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh…

Do you need to be relieved from duty, Lieutenant commander Valentine? he asked in a tone showing a surprising amount of sympathy for a man who did not have a clue what had brought on this mood. May be one of those times he broke his no gossip rule and went to ask the portraits in the Gryffindor common room for some insight. “I mean dismissed?

Unless the Gryffindor actually came to him about this.

Which he would cross his fingers, toes, and eyes in hope she would not because he did not speak teenage angst

SPOILER!!: AVA!
Quote:
Originally Posted by RandomRaven View Post
STARE.

The first-year Gryffindor couldn't help but just stare at Flamsteed dude. She tried not to pay attention and listen but apparently she couldn't. While Flamsteed demonstrated the crater formation, Ava grabbed a fresh parchment and doodled about them. So the first crater formation would be like this just like... When a bigger dude punch someone, it hurts more than the smaller dude. She grabbed another parchment and create a doodle about the second one.

She wondered why they had to learn about this and if there's anything related with wizardry stuffs.

He did manage to catch a proper glimpse of Ensign Burton’s parchment and positively BEAMED at it. “That is quite stellar and insightive, Ensign Burton,” he whispered, pointing to her parchment. “May I use that?
SPOILER!!: the quiet note takes and observers

Quote:
Originally Posted by DanialRadFAN01 View Post
Ensign?

Umm, his name was Milo. He wasn't going to speak up though because he had been somewhat praised for cheering on the big rock. He sat quietly as he listened to the rest but then heard 'Ensign' again. Oh, right those were titles like Admiral. Right.

*awkward*

He was immensely glad he hadn't corrected the man.

Next experiment. He listened to the set up and watched as the rocks fell and made their craters before adding to his answers from the last drop.

SPOILER!!: More Answers

1.)Since they were dropped from different heights they created different sized craters.
2.)The is a difference in each crater; they are all different sizes.
3.)The velocity which is caused by the height it fails is more important I guess because if the rocks were the same mass then the only thing making the craters different sizes was that some where dropped from higher places.
Quote:
Originally Posted by keepmeclose22 View Post
Austin continued to opt for the parchment route. He wanted to spend his fourth year making friends, and trying to be social. But that required a lot of energy, and he wasn't up or it today. He watched in amazement as three more rock friends were pulled out. For some reason, he desperately wanted one. But right now, they had to focus on the lesson. Lesson now, rocks later.

It was interesting to see that both mass and velocity affected the size of the crater. But which was more important? That was the real question here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squishy View Post
As the answers to the questions appeared on the blackboard, Paulina made sure to jot everything down in her notebook even though it was more or less what she had already made note of. Maybe this stuff would be on the NEWTs though goodness knows if she would even bother with Astronomy.

As different rocks were selected for the next demonstration, Paulina watched as they were placed at different heights. Obviously these results would differ from the last ones since distance from the ground played a role in crater formation.

More answers were jotted down in her notes:

SPOILER!!: Paulina's Notes
1. Dropping the rocks from different heights caused a variation in the sizes of the craters.
2. As with the last demonstration, the craters are all different sizes.
3. I think that the velocity of the rock is more important than the mass. The faster an object falls, the bigger the impact it has when it reaches the ground.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yaya View Post
More demonstrations. More rocks. Cute rock names. Now she wanted one! Watching the rocks do their fall onto the sand, and wishing again she had her camera, Vicky thought of many other physics, scientific little facts. Where was this coming from? Maybe too many documentaries in her life. EH.

Now, she really had to think about the questions, and correct her previous assumptions:
Quote:
Originally Posted by HogwartsStudent11 View Post
The Admiral seemed less-than-satisfied with her responses. Well, it was his fault that Hogwarts didn't offer English as a Second Language. Somehow.

Marisol decided that she shouldn't even try to answer his next question. Instead she doodled in her notebook. She could scratch "Professional Drawing Person" off of her job list.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir View Post
Now that the lecture about rocks was over, and they were getting into actual experiments, Daxton found he was slightly more interested. Slightly. Because... well, it was still rocks. He would have liked to actually do some stargazing, maybe use a super magically enhanced telescope to look at an asteroid in space in vivid detail. Or a planet. Or something more interesting. But the actual experimentation was enough to pique his interest that little bit, because it was science, and science was interesting.

Aside from Airey Flamsteed being ridiculous with naming the rocks again, and claiming they were somehow related by blood, Daxton was finding it easy to follow. Again he watched the demonstration, and again he wrote his answers in his notes.


SPOILER!!: Notes
Daxton Prince
First Year
Ravenclaw
Astronomy

Rocks
  • Rocks can tell us about the history of the earth, either through the fossils they might consist of or contain, or their own physical structure, or what processes occurred to create a particular rock - elements, chemicals, pressure, atmospheric influence, etc... - the deeper you go, the older the rock, most probably, and therefore deep down towards the centre of the earth, there may be answers as to the planet's creation/formation/deeper history, which links back to Astronomy
  • Float in space, and help create planets, including Earth. Rocks obtained from the Moon support this claim, due to a 'tiny excess of a heavier variant of the element zinc' - research further
  • Entire ecosystems altered due to 'space rocks', eg: the asteroid that destroyed three quarters of life on earth, and ended numerous species and the Cretaceous age (65 million years ago, not 6.5 million) - left the 'Chicxulub crater' (though some argue that the crater it left is not the Chicxulub crater, despite evidence saying otherwise). This also lead to our existence in the long-term
  • ^ Marked end of the Cretaceous period and beginning of the Paleogene period. Geologists and planetary geologists refer to this as the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (K–Pg boundary)
  • Fossils - self-explanatory
  • "We are all rocks" - ??????????????? no
  • ^ Calcium found in rocks and makes up 3.63% of Earth's crust is also found in human teach. Iron that makes up 5% of Earth's crust is also found in human (and likely other creatures') blood. These elements were created in the interiors of collapsing stars. Humans "made of stars"
  • No
  • I am not a rock
  • Or a star
  • That does not even make sense. We consist of some of the same elements, we are "made of stars" in the most rudimental sense. That statement is misleading and confusing.
  • The four inner planets of the Solar System (closest to the Sun) are made of rock
  • Some markings on some rocks may be able to determine the age of the planet it comes from
  • Panspermia - the theory that rocks brought life to Earth (and likely other planets throughout the universe) by way of early organisms, proteins, water, etc... the "building blocks of life"; research in August 2015 supports this claim, showing "evidence that early comet impacts influenced amino acids to change into peptides"
  • The Moon is a rock, obviously - perhaps possible to compare Moon rocks to Earth rocks and discover the absolute truth of how the Moon came to be
  • Rocks are classed as baryonic matter
  • Astronomers measuring the density and composition of the universe using leftover radiation from the Big Bang discovered that the baryonic matter of which rocks belongs to makes up only 4.6% of it - research further
  • Rocks made of silicates, rock-forming minerals made of oxygen and silicone, more hydrogen atoms than silicone atoms in the Solar System, so much more hydrogen found than rock. Rock makes up the majority of inner terrestrial planets due to the fact that hydrogen and methane (and ammonia) cannot condense because of the thermal energy closer to the sun. The rocks (the planets' bodies) cannot hold onto these elements, therefore it is the silicates that end up forming the rocks of the inner planets, hence why there are no gaseous planets closer to the sun
  • Outer planets also have rock at the centre, just less
  • Rocks make good pets? Better than an animal I suppose...
  • Rocks made up of all the different minerals in the universe flew together at the beginning of time(? IF the beginning of time was the beginning of the universe, which I doubt) to create the planets
  • Rocks dating back to K–Pg boundary period indicate global catastrophe, ie: layer of grayish clay found in all of the K-T boundary era rocks, which contain unusually high concentrations of iridium. As this element is extremely rare in surface rocks on Earth, leading to the conclusion that the rocks were from elsewhere (indicating a large meteorite impact... rocks from space)

Basic Terminology
- asteroid = large rocky body, always found in space, orbits the Sun, but not a planet
- meteoroids = smaller than an asteroid, but still rocky bodies (rocks) or particles which orbit the Sun ("meteroid is in the void" except it's actually just in space which isn't officially a void because the space in our solar system does contain some particles)
- meteors = occurs when a meteoroid or asteroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere and vaporizes, it becomes a meteor, which is often mislabeled a shooting star" ("meteor above you soars")
- meteorites = "If an asteroid or large meteoroid survives its fiery passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and lands on Earth’s surface, it is then called a meteorite." ("meteorite is in your sight" although I suspect any of them could be in your sight if you look hard enough and/or use a telescope)

What each of these is depends on where they are. You cannot find a meteoroid within the Earth's atmosphere, because it will either vaporise and burn up upon entry, at which point it would become a meteor, or it will hold together and thus become a meteorite, and hit earth. Asteroids generally stay in space, orbiting the Sun, but if it were to impact with the Earth (meaning it entered the Earth's atmosphere without vaporising) it would also become a meteorite, though generally when these impact with the Earth, they are still referred to as asteroids, which is confusing. Also, all four of these bodies are made up of minerals and rock, and all originated in space. Obviously. In fact, you could argue that everything originates in space, as that is exactly where we are, but that is besides the point.
  • Shiny black crust on meteorites as a result of going through the Earth's atmosphere
  • Meteorites potentially heavier than normal Earth rocks due to their contents
  • Meteors give off a glow due to burning up - down to friction and speed and obviously not magic, duh
  • Hoba meteorite - largest known, found in Nambia, 60 tonnes, discovered in the 1920s, believed to have impacted approximately 80,000 years ago
  • Asteroids can have their own moons (for example: the 19 mile wide Ida, which has a 1 mile wide moon, Dactyl)
  • Some asteroid considered to be dwarf planets - Ceres, Pluto, etc
  • None of these are to be confused with comets, which are something else entirely
  • "Meteor showers are Earth's way of getting clean" ??????????????? - research further
  • Meteorites can be as small as particles, specks of dust, grains of sand - as long as it is bigger than an atom, and smaller than an asteroid, it counts
  • Asteroids are considered 'minor planets' (essentially any astronomical object that orbits the Sun but is not one of the 'official', 'main' planets nor originally classified as a comet - includes asteroids, dwarf planets, and centaurs [obviously the celestial kind, not the mythical creature kind)
  • Pluto is a dwarf planet, technically an asteroid though some argue its status as a comet
  • Some people wish on what they think are 'falling/shooting stars', but actually they are just meteors. It makes no sense why people would make wishes on falling stars anyway, because they cannot grant them. Making wishes does not work.
  • Asteroids sometimes travel in groups
  • The largest known asteroid is as large as the state of Texas in the United States, and it is 582 miles across

Falling Rock Experiment 1
1. Which rock created the largest crater?
The largest rock ("Dwayne Johnson", apparently)
2. What is the only difference in the way each crater was made?
The only difference was that each rock is a different size. They were all released from the same height, at the same time, and fell at what I presume is the same velocity, it is true that the only magic used on them was that which stopped them from being suspended in the air/caused gravity to take hold. You could also argue that the rocks were all released and fell to the sand in different places, even though they were near each other. Though this may not have caused any significant difference, it should still be factored in, in case of some sort of strange gravity anomaly/pocket in the classroom, which may potentially have caused one of the rocks to slow down and lose velocity
3. What can be said about the importance of the mass of a meteorite in making a crater?
Firstly, it should be noted that the weight of an object does not affect how fast it falls to the ground; different weighted objects will fall to the ground at the same speed. Therefore we know that it was not speed or velocity that influenced the sizes of the craters. The only other (significant) variable is the size (mass) of the rocks. Given that the rocks are all different sizes, and so are the craters, if you apply this experiment to meteorites and Earth the most probable answer is that the higher the mass of the meteorite (rock), the larger the resulting crater will be. There could potentially be other factors, however, other than just mass.
Falling Rock Experiment 2
1. What did dropping the rocks from different heights accomplish?
Dropping the rocks (which are all the same mass) from three different heights lead to their creating three differently sized craters. The rock dropped from the lowest height left the smallest crater, in terms of diameter, and the rock dropped from the highest height left the largest crater, in terms of diameter
2. Do you see any difference in the diameters of the three craters?
Yes
3. Which do you think is more important in creating larger craters, more mass or more velocity?
The first experiment showed that rock with the bigger mass left a larger crater despite being dropped from the same height as the others. The second experiment showed that a rock with the same mass as its competitors could create a larger crater if dropped from a higher point. I think that proves that both factors play a role in the size of the crater, and as it is difficult to tell precisely the difference in the size of the craters versus the size of the rocks versus the precise heights from which they were dropped, using only the vague results from these experiments we can't say for sure which factor has more influence on the size of the crater. "Dwayne Johnson" might create the same size crater that "Kunzite" would create from an even greater height. But if you add height and velocity to "Dwayne Johnson" the crater would be even larger, so velocity can add even more of an impact and create an even larger crater.
Quote:
Originally Posted by feeheeheeny View Post
Sophie Brown didn't do ANYTHING. She just saved the pip floating toward her from a terrible fate of floating away forever. She was KEEPING IT SAFE, okay? And so she did. Right in her pocket. Safe and sound, see?

The newest simulation was even BETTER THAN THE LAST. Some variety made it very exciting, and even though she was unsurprised with the results, it STILL CONTINUED TO BE EXCITING. The pooooor, poor rocks, though, right? Their feelings were probably pretty hurt, no matter how much Airey had reassured them that it was going to be okay. ROCKS PROBABLY HAD FEELINGS, TOO, AIREY.

Or, at least, that's the impression Soph always got from the way Airey interacted with Pebbles.

But she was supposed to be CONSIDERING things, so she did. The different heights... showed that the SIZE of the body making an impact wasn't necessarily a deciding factor on how big the crater size would be, but the HEIGHT and the DISTANCE the crater had to travel and stuff made a difference. The rock that traveled the furthest made the biggest crater, and... and Soph thought more mass AND more velocity were BOTH important. So nyah. No mass or velocity gets left behind or forgotten.

...But was Kyroh... really...???

That kid had some guts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meizzner View Post
It seemed like velocity was more important since like Flamsteed said they were all the same size. Tough at this point Dante was just going to have to trust him on that since it was way to much to check that for him right now.

All the question got pushed to the side when he heard Kyroh talk.

Go, Kyroh!

Demand that apology for Dot and you even indirectly called Airey a bully. Now this was entertainment.

He just pretend to write stuff down focused on what Airey would say to Kyroh.

Tugging on the collar of his Admiral’s uniform a bit, his blue eyes looked around the room at the students who were taking diligent notes and….doodling?

Wait...was that a doodle of HIM?

Squinting at the fifth year Slytherin, he tried his best to make out the figure on her parchment...but it was rather difficult to see it in any detail from where distance from which he was floating...
SPOILER!!: KYROH XD
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaos.Doodles View Post
Kyroh wasn't answer ANY more question. Or caring about ay of the falling rocks. He was too busy glaring. Glaring at Flamsteed who had just YELLED at Dot for a STUPID reason, and made her look like she was going to CRY.

It bugged him because the man did that ALOT. It would be alright if he did it for important reasons but it was always for stupid stuff! Glitter or pips falling. Flamsteed was a loose cannon and that did not seem like a good quality of a Professor. Frown still on his face, Kyroh raised his hand. "You need to say sorry. To Charlotte." Slytherin Prefect Charlotte. His Charlotte. Yes, Flammy needed to. "It's not okay to just tell at someone like that and then act like you didn't do anything. That's bullying Professor."

…and now he was paying NO attention to the doodle.

His eyes snapped around to the Ravenclaw and all he could do was GAWK at him for several uncomfortable moments.

NONE OF IT WAS STUPID STUFF! STUPID STUFF WAS A RATHER SUBJECTIVE TERM, YOUNG MAN!

Ahem.

But thankfully THAT had not been uttered out loud. What had been was bad enough given the circumstances.

Apologize for reminding her to follow instructions?” he asked slowly, trying his best NOT to look at the probably-almost-crying Slytherin. Because really, if she had not worn so many pips and just the ones instructed to do so then there would be absolutely no tension in the classroom right now.

Or tears.

SPOILER!!: MORE VELOCIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITY PEOPLE

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tazzie View Post
Oh. Hehe. The young badger blushed slightly at the Admiral's comment. He was just a little excited because for once he wasn't really lost with the discussion considering they weren't talking about wizard-y things yet which he most definitely didn't have any knowledge about. At least at this point they were dwelling on some aspect of muggle physics.

Moving on, more rock friends!

Rockanne's siblings...with the same mass too! Owen was thrilled. If Rockanne wasn't up for adoption, then maybe he could adopt one from the other three? Fingers crossed!

And more questions. Phew. Owen's once again raised his hand, "Dropping the rocks from different heights made difference in the size of the crater that they created." He'd really love to have Kunzite if Rockanne wasn't available for adoption because look at that crater...awesome rock. Owen just HAD to beam at him. "Because the sizes of the crater our rock friends created vary, there are difference in each of their diameters." And...he already answered the third question early on, right? "Both are equally important, Admiral sir. The more, the merrier the bigger the crater!" BEAM.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 View Post
WOOPS?

Haha.

Adi glanced at Owen. Two hyper Hufflepuffs getting waaaay ahead of things there. And would you look at that? They BOTH had given practically the same answers. "Sorry, Admiral,'' he said with a grin, not at all feeling abashed or anything. Really... why should he? He and Owen had just provided answers before the rest of the class. So... HOLDING ALL ROCKET BOOSTERS, ADMIRAL!

Checking his brows for the umpteenth time, the Hufflepuff then went on to make notes from the blackboard, pausing when Flamsteed said there was more to it all than size. AHA! This was where his and Owen's replies came in! He watched with interest as three more rocks were summoned and set up at varying heights. Annnnd they were off!

WOOT! He and Owen were right! Adi shot his baby badger a grin. Your Prefect was super proud of you, Ensign Montezor!

But then it was question and answer time again. Hand up, he offered the answers. "Dropping them from different heights showed that size alone doesn't matter, it's also about the speed at which they travel. Yep, there are differences in the diameters because of the height at which they were dropped and I think velocity is more important in creating larger craters.'' The reply to the first question kind of answered that last one, yes?
Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin View Post
Yoongi was okay now, yes? Penelope returned to her seat. Meteors, meteorites, meteoroids, and asteroids. She jotted down notes on the definitions of those terms. Pet rocks being dropped into the sand! Look, they were making craters! It was fun to see how pet rocks could be used to teach astronomy. Could Luna be out on her desk? Penelope got her pet rock Luna out and put the rock on top of her notes. "The diameter of the craters was bigger when the rocks had a higher velocity." Craters. Crashing into things. Sounded like one of those activities that she would not be entirely comfortable with. Penelope was a fifth year Lieutenant Commander now. This was the year that she would not panic when faced with an activity in astronomy class. She was supposed to be watching out for younger students or something like that, not dying or crying.

SPOILER!!: notes
The difference all comes down to a question of location. Each are made of the same basic materials – minerals and rock – and each originated in space.

asteroid
A large rocky body in space, in orbit around the Sun. Asteroids are always found in space.
meteoroids
meterOID is in the VOID
A much smaller rocks or particles in orbit around the Sun.
meteors
meteOR above you SOARs
If a meteoroid or asteroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere and vaporizes, it becomes a meteor, which is often mislabeled a shooting star.
meteorites
meteorITE is in your SIGHT
If an asteroid or large meteoroid survives its fiery passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and lands on Earth’s surface, it is then called a meteorite.


Dwayne Johnson, the largest rock, made the largest crater. The size of the rocks was the only difference in creating the craters.The rock with the highest mass made the largest crater. Bigger meteorites make larger craters.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sararara View Post
Leaning forward again, Norah fiddled with her quill as she watched the three new rocks fall to the ground. Alrighty. Velocity stuff. Cool beans. She paused to scribble down some thoughts on the professor's new questions. They didn't look too bad...right? Maybe worth sharing with the class. Just maybe.

She listened to the rest of the students and tried to spin her quill between her fingers. Kyroh got a wide-eyed look for telling off a Professor, yes he did. That was really brave. Did he know? Norah kept staring at him with a little smile just in case he could catch the impressed vibes she was sending in his direction. Well, impressed and a little bit scared, but it still counted. With that, she turned her attention back to the front and put a hand in the air. She could be brave too, uh huh. Even though she didn't know a whole lot about the maths part of velocity things, she could still try and answer the question. So THERE. "It looks like the different heights made the rocks go at different velocities so then they made different sized craters again. The highest one went the fastest, I think, so that had the biggest crater." That WAS how velocity worked, right? Speed and falling and things. This would've been useful to know that time she'd fallen out of a tree. "And I think velocity is more important than the size, too. I've heard that if you drop a knut from super duper high up you can hurt somebody down below really badly, even though a knut is really small, just 'cause it's going at such a high...velocity. So that's how I know velocity is extra important in making impact to make craters too." It just made SENSE, y'know? Who needed maths anyway

YES! Precisely,” he nodded, giving each of them a thumbs up each of the students. “And thank you Lieutenant commander Kittredge for that additional illustration of the importance of velocity. Take 1 point. And take 2 points each, Captain Rehman and Ensign Montezor for this and your foreshadowing answers.

That was not the proper use of the word, was it? Too late now. It was already out.

Waving his wand at the blackboard once more to erase the previous notes, Admiral Flamsteed replaced them with nutshell answers once more.

Quote:
Originally Posted by blackboard
What did dropping our three rocky friends from different heights accomplish?
Varied the velocity at impact
Do you see any difference in the diameters of the three craters?
Yes. As velocity increased, so did crater diameter
Which do you think is more important in creating larger craters, more mass or more velocity?
Velocity increases have more effect on crater diameter than mass increases. Velocity has a greater contribution to the energy of impact.
Giving the class an approving nod, he wiggled himself off to the side a little bit and waved his wand to summon the rocky volunteers back up to his desk; taking great care, for the record, that there were no collisions between them and students and their desks.

Excellent work,” he applauded, diving right into the remaining bit of lecture. “So we have reiterated that mass and velocity play roles in the size of a crater - velocity playing a more influential role than mass but both still important. In speaking about our own planet, objects tend to hit at approximately 12 miles per second, or 20 kilometers per second, to create a crater approximately 20 times larger in diameter than the impacting object. Smaller planets and moons have less gravitational pull than large planets and therefore meteorites will strike at lower speeds, so this is where mass will sometimes play a larger role. So, size does matter...but just not as much as velocity.” Following so far? Stellar. “Now, some of you may look up at the Moon and think ‘SWEET SOLSTICE IT IS TAKING A BEATING!’, but that too is a bit relative. Impact craters are not a rare occurrence and happen everywhere in our solar system. The Moon appears to have so many more due to its surface essentially remaining unmodified for its entire 3 billion years of existence. Venus, lava flows that have obscured previous impact craters. BUT, as a general rule of thumb, one can say that older surfaces have more impact craters.

He looked around the semi circle of desks, wondering just how many glazed over expressions he had earned himself in the past few minutes as he checked his sundial watch. Yes. That was enough lecture for the day. Time for something a little active and get the blood flowing. Floating in sitting position for too long could cause cramping and discomfort, so before all that set in…

ALRIGHT! Parchment and books away. You’ll just need your wands now so go ahead and wiggle yourselves free of your desks and push them down towards the ground, please. They’ll stop once they hit. No need to worry about equal and opposite reactions in that regard.” Which was a little unnerving to the man how physical laws could so easily be discarded with magic. Unnerving and exhilarating...but now was not the time to dwell on this.

Banishing his desk and blackboard to the ground (and all rocky companions except Pebbles) as students took care of their desks and chairs, the astronomer summoned small drawstring brown bags for each student and levitated them to each individual. “In these bags you will find magically enhanced marbles in your house color. These marbles, while they will feel hard to the touch, will NOT cause any physical harm to yourself or your classmates. No need to worry about concussions in this classroom. At least not today. Ha. Hahaha. Anywhoooo…. “These marbles will act as your meteoroids, meteors, or meteorites while the sand…” He paused again to wave his wand towards the glistening white sand below, transforming it into three large spheres of equal size that began to rotate around the room in seemingly random orbits, changing things up every few minutes or so so none stayed on the same course for too long but showed no risk of colliding with one another. “...will serve as a planet just waiting to have its own impact craters. When I give the word, you will float about firing your marbles off towards these planets to try and ‘claim’ it for your house. When your marbles strike, they will shattered and create a crater in your house color. The more surface area covered by craters in your house color, the larger the ‘claim’ your house has on that planet.

Get it? Got it? Good.

When a planet’s surface area has been entirely covered in craters...well...you’ll just have to see what happens,” he grinned.

Now, to launch your marbles you will be using a simple spell to make your wand mimic a muggle marble shooter of sorts. Simply hold the marble over the tip of your wand and say ‘Tikalas,’ pulling the marble back on the ‘las’ bit. You wand will produce a sort of faint gold band around the marble that, when you release it, will launch it in the direction you are aiming.” First years may find it a bit difficult at first, seeing as they were just starting out with spellwork, but even those truly struggling with magic should be able to get it after a few tries.

I will be available right over here if there are any questions,” he said, indicating a place over by the winder with his index finger. “Ready? Set. ENGAGE!

OOC: Here are some rules and more detailed instructions so there is hopefully there is no confusion. You can, of course, as questions OOC to me or IC to Professor Flamsteed

▸ Your character has a bag of marbles in their house’s color (red for Gryffindor, yellow for Hufflepuff, blue for Ravenclaw, and green for Slytherin). The number of marbles in the bag is seemingly endless, so don’t worry about running out.
▸ Marbles will shatter on impact and create a crater in the house color as well.
▸ Your character can only shoot ONE marble per post.
▸ Please TITLE your post with the number of the “planet” you are aiming for #1, #2, or #3. For example: post 1; planet #2
▸ Please do not forget to cast the spell, Tikalas, in each post. If you do not RP this then the impact crater will NOT count.
▸ Each marble (meteorite) that makes a crater on one of the three planets creates points towards that house “owning” that planet.
▸ post numbers that are multiples of 9 mean that the marble’s velocity has greatly increased and will count as 5 points towards that house’s “ownership”
▸ post numbers that are multiples of 11 mean that the marble’s mass has increased and will count as 3 points towards that house’s “ownership”
All other post numbers will count as 1 point towards that house’s “ownership”
▸ Post number means the number your post is in the thread
▸ I will be keeping track of how many points each of the 3 planets has accumulated and you will know when a planet has reached its quota
▸ Talk & interaction between students is fine and encouraged
▸ Your character missing a planet entirely, performing the spell incorrectly, or simply taking a moment just to practice the spell will still count towards participation Just let your character be themselves!
▸ This activity will be open for a few days (at least 48 hours from the time of this post) to give everyone plenty of time to participate
▸ Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaave fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!

Minimum of five posts to get full credit (ten individual house points). Extra credit possible for outstanding RPing.
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When youre stuck in a moment and your spark has been stolen .................................................. ...........
this is our time to own it, so own it.....................................
baby we were born with fire and gold in our eyes
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