Alyssa decided that for her last attempt in searching for the stars in the Mystery Telescope Challenge the Professor had assigned everyone for their term end paper, that she would complete it at the place where she first started out the assignment. It was amazing how fast time had flown by. Soon the term would be ending and she would be leaving for home. Alyssa felt both happy and sad at the same time. She quickly pushed those thoughts away as she concentrated on the task at hand.

Tonight was May 25th. Acording to her Star Reference Guide, tonight would be the best time to look for the Constellation Virgo. She quickly took out her telescope from its case and unfolded it, standing it next to the nearest open window. Then she walked over to the star maps that the Professor had lying on a nearby table and looked through them until she found the one she wanted. Taking note of the coordinates, and what the formation of the stars for that Constellation looked like, Alyssa quickly walked back to her telescope, kneeled down on the floor and started adjusting the focus on her telescope's lenses.

Wanting a clearer and more focussed view, Alyssa took out her wand and tapped it on the telescope, saying,"Lens Focalis". Holstering her wand, she peered through the viewfinder again and was glad that the spell had indeed worked. This was definitely one spell that the Professor had taught them that had been very useful for her this term. Alyssa gazed through the telescope pointing it up into the skies above slowly moving back and forth, up and down, checking the formation of each cluster of stars before she found the one that she wanted. Just to verify that she had found what she was looking for, Alyssa walked back to where the Star Maps were and studied the formation of stars for the Constellation Virgo. Memorizing the positions, she quickly returned to her telescope and peered through the viewfinder again.

She studied the cluster of stars that she had found and punched the air with glee because she had indeed found the Constellation Virgo. Alyssa admired the way the cluster of stars glowed in the night sky before quickly noting down its coordinates in her Journal.




After months of star gazing, Alyssa was feeling kind of sad that she had completed her assignment. She had enjoyed looking for the stars and made it a point to spend more time in the observatory next term. Keeping her journal and quill back into her backpack, Alyssa packed up her telescope, gently folding it up and placing it into its case. Placing the case in her bag, she slung it over her shoulder and with one last glance up at the starlit skies and then around the observatory, Alyssa left the Observatory.