| Thestral
Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: ♥
Posts: 81,464
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Solana Selwyn
Slytherin Fifth Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Selene Diana Evans
Ravenclaw Seventh Year |  Snow Miser | Munchy | Molly Hooper | T | Hey, you | Phantom | Mrs. Chris Evans | Brat Pack | Tristalen
SPOILER!!: replies Quote:
Originally Posted by Daydreamer11  Shay listened as her classmates shared their favorite constellations. She was surprised to hear that her favorite was also the professor's favorite. Well that was cool. Even better was the fact that they would be learning about Orion during today's class. As Professor Kennedy gave the mythological history of Orion, Shay took notes because.......well you never knew what might come up during NEWT's.
When the next question was asked, Shay raised her hand immediately. She knew this and was determined to reply before all of the answers were given."One of the stars of Orion is Bellatrix." That one was easy to remember because of its evil namesake Bellatrix Lestrange. Shay supposed that her family must have been big Astronomy fans, given the celestial names that were frequently found among its members. Yeah, she paid attention in History of Magic. Continuing on, Shay added, "I believe that that star is located on Orion's left shoulder." Kalen nodded, “That is correct Miss Morrison, Bellatrix is a part of Orion, and it is the left shoulder, though remember he is facing us so it looks like it’s on the right. ” He said with a nod. Quote:
Originally Posted by siriusblackliveson Patrick listened as Professor Kennedy explained Orion to the class. He had remembered his mother talking about how you could always find him because of his belt. He looked up to the sky, noticing all of the clouds that Professor Kennedy had mentioned being in the way of seeing the stars. He was a bit disappointed because he was really hoping to see it, that was his favorite part of astronomy class, gazing at the stars.
He raised his hand, "I know one is called Rigel. Isn't it one of the really bright ones?" he wasn't sure about his question, but he did remember the name of the one star, otherwise he was completely lost. Kalen nodded. “Rigel is the left foot, though it looks like it’s on the right, and it’s the seventh brightest star in the night sky. ” He said with a nod. Quote:
Originally Posted by sarahlooo Natalie beamed when the teachers said that he liked Draconis too. Besides, that word was in the Hogwarts motto. Draconis ticklandus something or other, blah blah. All she knew was that tickling a dragon was a bad idea. Anyway...
So, they were talking about Orion today. Natalie had sort of been hoping for a cooler constellation, like something less well known. That being said, Natalie didn't really know the answer to the teacher's question. "All I've ever really paid attention to is the belt... but I don't know what they're called." Actually, she didn't even know what the rest of Orion looked like, so... Kalen nodded as she spoke, “The belt is one of the most recognizable parts of this constellation so that is no surprise. Thank you for your answer Miss McKinley.” He said with a smile. Quote:
Originally Posted by Goblinfrog Ooh, she knew this one! Kitty had studied the stars a lot more this term than in previous ones, but even if she hadn't she would have known this one.
"Betelgeuse is my favorite star of Orion. It forms the shoulder and is pronounced Beetlejuice. It sounds beautiful, doesn't it? I learned about it when I was five, and I've always felt a special connection with Betelguese."
She'd been stargazing with her parents. When she first heard the name she fell in love with it. And then there was a certain old Muggle movie that had the same name which she also felt a connection with. Kalen grinned as Kitty spoke, he might have figured that. “It is the right shoulder, though you see it on the left, and the tenth brightest star in the sky, not a bad favorite star to have.” He said with a nod.”It does sound very beautiful.” Quote:
Originally Posted by marshmallowXpie Clara sat quietly in her seat, listening to her classmates talk about their favorite constellations. It was fascinating to get a different perspective. After all, everyone knows something you don't. As Professor Kennedy discussed Orion and its history, she jotted down a few notes here and there about "Greek hunter" and "threatened animals" and "death by a giant scorpion".
The next question was about Orion's stars and Clara began wracking her brain for something. It was awfully familiar and she was sure she had read it in a book somewhere. She squinted her eyes in concentration, trying very hard to remember.
Orion, Orion...what are your stars?
She rubbed her stomach lightly as it gave an odd grumble, remembering the Peppermint Toad she had eaten earlier that day. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to get from Hogsmeade. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off inside her head and she raised her hand high as she responded, "Mintaka is one of the stars of Orion, right? I think it might be part of Orion's belt, but I'm not sure..."
She knew Astronomy wasn't her strong suit. She always struggled with the little details of everything. Fortunately, the word "peppermint" led her to "Mintaka". Thank you, food. Kalen nodded. “Mintaka is Indeed part of Orion’s Belt, very good answer.” He said with a nod. Quote:
Originally Posted by Watson Ryan trying to do cartwheels hey? Vi glanced at the constellation, trying to picture the image that Mr... No.. Professor Kennedy had constructed within her mind. Interesting.
But before she could think anymore of it, they were moving on with the lesson.
The names of Orion's seven stars? She listened to several other students suggest names of the stars and she paused for a moment. Okay so Mintaka, Bellatrix, Betelgeuse, Rigel.... Didn't one begin with S...? Sh.... No. Se. No. So? Not even close. She continued running through potential combinations... Sa.... No.. Wait. Actually.... maybe. "Saiph?" she said more to herself before raising her hand. "Saiph is one of the stars Professor. It's the one at the south east corner..." She thought. Or was it southwest corner...? Hmmm... One of those two for sure. Kalen nodded as Miss Holden spoke, “Saiph is Indeed one of the Stars, it’s the right foot, even though we see it on the left of the constellation.” Yeah it was confusing but what could he do? Quote:
Originally Posted by NifflerFan Professor Kennedy's raised eyebrow didn't go unnoticed by the second year, but since he wasn't taking points off or anything, she didn't really care. Zoryn was funny, and the professor clearly didn't want any answers that weren't all serious and stuff -- maybe especially from Zoryn -- which was no fun and stuff. Not that Astronomy was usually much fun anyways; Emmeline only really liked it when they got to look at the sky and observe pretty things, but the TONS of theory involved in this subject was guaranteed to bore the Gryffindor almost to tears.
She only half-listened to all of Professor Kennedy's talking and stuff after all, realllly only paying attention to his new question. She had absolutely noooo idea what the answer was at all, so she started flipping through their textbook at lightning!speed to find the star names. See, she could totally do this school thing and stuff. After a few minutes of skimming and trying realllly hard not to yawn, Emmeline raised her hand and added, "There's Mintaka too, Professor." She wasn't going to say anything more than the star's name, though, 'cause the textbook had too much information written about it and she didn't feel like reading so much, mhm. Kalen nodded. “There is Indeed Mintaka, Miss Sparkes, Thank you for your answer.” He said with a smile. Quote:
Originally Posted by RachieRu Orion. That was a pretty name. Though she probably shouldn't have been concentrating on the name. It was more important about the content, rather than how pretty the name. She was sure the person who had named the constellation hadn't been thinking about how pretty the name was. Though if she ever got to name anything, she would totally be thinking about pretty the name was. But for now, she tried to not get distracted by that. The fifth year was quiet for a few minutes, writing down the answers that her class mates were saying. Sometimes it was easier to just be quiet and write the correct answers down.
Now. Did she have anything to add. She looked at her list, seeing what answered had already been said. She didn't want to repeat anything. Ooh. Ther were a few. She smiled, putting her hand into the air "I believe that Alnitak is also one of the stars that makes up Orion" But that wasn't such a pretty name though. Kalen nodded, “Yes it is Miss Paton, it’s one of the stars in Orion’s Belt.” He said with a brief nod and a smile. SPOILER!!: The quiet ones Quote:
Originally Posted by ArianaBlack For the record, her remark was NOT disruptive. It was the straight truth. Did the man want her to lie and make up some constellation when the REAL stars were on the big screen? He needed some culture, just sayin'. Zoryn wasn't about to hop on this train any time soon.
This man was way too sensitive. He kept getting all sorts of butthurt. Zor almost pitied the grown baby.
So with this in mind, she chose not to answer the next question. 'Cause he would probably find some way to make it about him again. And honestly, Zoryn payed no attention to his story 'cause who did he think she was? Ain't nobody got time for this stupid class that had no real life application. Why the heck would she need Astronomy in the real world!?!? It made NO sense. Both the subject AND the class requirement. Neither made sense.
So instead, she just sat quietly, a first, but desperate times y'know? Quote:
Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo Oh, good, she wouldn't have to wrack her brain to name the first star or constellation to come to mind. The concept itself sounded easy but was she the only one who noticed that you remembered things only until the moment where you absolutely needed them? Chances were she'd draw a blank.
Just like now. The stars in Orion's constellation? Maybe she did know it at one point but not currently.
Blue eyes shifted to the window. With a cloudy sky, all she could see was darkness but it would serve as a distraction all the same. She would simply wait for the question to change to something she knew the answer to and if she didn't know the answer to the next one either...well....the Ravenclaw was about to get a whoooole lot quieter.
Idly, her thoughts drifted back to the door and her gaze followed shortly after. What WAS that door meant to do? Where would it lead? How did it relate to Orion?
How much longer would she have to wait to know? Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie The.......what?
No...that was NOT what Derf had said...which now left the Hufflepuff blinking in confusion for a moment and the gears in his head unnecessarily spinning into overdrive and he sat in his seat ruffling his hair quite a bit. WHAT had dad said about it? Derf could really only remember the mythology and stuff behind it at the moment, which really did not help much with what he was trying to clarify. Or was HE also confused and the mythology was more for the Crux than the Southern Cross? WERE they the same thing?! He THOUGHT one had more stars than the other...but maybe not and o many things seemed to have two words to mean the same thing, you know? Language was fascinating and confusing and using common names for other things was something completely normal. Like... Triturus cristatus and Great Crested Newt. Which meant he was now thinking about Scamander inside hia pocket. Eventually something DID click ...something about a word that started with A...but Derf couldn't remember the word at the moment and he was already feeling kinda awkward for being so loud earlier soooooooo he just nodded his head to the man as he spoke and moved things along.
He didn't really know what he was talking about in this class anyway. Shoulda picked a constellation with a creature rather than a shape, clearly.
As for the question, again, the Hufflepuff became crestfallen because he did not know. He supposed he could flip through his textbook though and find the answer there? Which was what he started to do...only to get distracted reading about Serpens and Ophiuchus.
Quote:
Originally Posted by emjay The mysterious door was rather distracting which Henry might admit was kind of silly. It was just a door, after all. But Charlotte seemed curious about it also, and it didn't help that Professor Kennedy drew attention to it as well, without saying what it would be used for. At least he knew it wasn't a portal to an alternate universe, which he was thankful for. Very thankful for. But that only distracted him more, in a much worse way.
Sitting next to Charlotte helped calm his thoughts, though he wasn't paying that close attention to the class discussion questions. Did it really matter what his favorite constellation was? He wasn't sure he had one specific one in mind anyway and there were plenty of other answers. He idly doodled his own galaxy in the margins of his parchment as he listened to the story of Orion. That was sort of interesting as he thought that of many of the myths behind the constellation names. Perhaps he'd make up a story behind one of the imaginary ones on the side of his paper. Or not.
He lifted his eyes at the next question, but he could not answer that without looking in his book. And plenty of other people answered so maybe he didn't need to anyway. Instead, he waited for what would come next, and stole a couple more glances at the door. Quote:
Originally Posted by Steelsheen Yes he knew what and where the Orion constellation was, as it was dead center of the night sky at one of their hotels in Asia. And the only star he was familiar with there, Betelgeuse, was already named by Kitty. That brought a smile to his face since now his mind has drifted off to the Muggle movie of the same phonetics....
The quiet ones got a look, but he was just glad they seemed to be mostly paying attention, and at least Zoryn was quiet and not disturbing anyone, so there was that. Kalen nodded and smiled as most everyone tried to name some sort of Star from the brightest seven stars of Orion.
“Very good everyone, now. ” Kalen walked over to his blackboard and after waving his wand, a picture of Orion in the Night sky came down so the entire class could see it. “Now this is Orion as one would see with the naked eye. Remember he is facing us, so when I say right shoulder, it’ll be here, on the left. The right shoulder, here.. ” He said as he pointed to the bright yellowish orange star on the left. ”Is Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star and the tenth brightest star in the sky. Next is Bellatrix, his left shoulder there on the right, Rigel, his left foot here on the right, is the seventh brightest star in the sky and Saiph is Orion’s right foot. ” He said as he pointed to it. “Then we have the belt, which is comprised of Alnilham, Alnitak and Mintaka. ” He said as he pointed to the stars as he said their names.
“These are the seven brightest stars in Orion. And they make up the hourglass shape of this constellation. There are more stars of course in this constellation, and if it were clear we would be looking through our telescopes to see the Orion Nebula which is located in Orion’s sword, Here.” He said as he pointed to the fuzzy looking star in the middle of Orion’s sword. ”We will be studying this more in the upcoming weeks, but for tonight, we will be focusing on these seven main stars. “ He said as he moved from the blackboard to stand in front of his desk.
“Now, since we can’t see the sky tonight, we will have to bring the sky to us. But first in order to do that, we will need to conjure stars.” Kalen grinned and with a wave of his hand the lights in the room dimmed just a bit. He took out his wand, traced a star pattern in the air and said “Stellaris.”. A small sparkly ball of light appeared before him and it flashed yellow, red, white and blue at different intervals. “Of course this isn’t an actual star, but a good facsimile for what we will be using it for. Pretty fun in the dark as well. ” He said with a grin.
“Now I want you all to practice this spell, the wand motion is fairly simple, just trace a star in the air, and the incantation is easy. It’s Stellaris. Stell-AIR-is. Now let’s practice the wand movement and the incantation for a bit, before trying to conjure the stars okay?” He said as he dimmed the lights in the room a bit more.
“Everyone up, I want to see you practicing. If you need any help, I’ll be right here.” He said as he leaned against his desk. OOC: Thanks everyone for answering and welcome to the mini activity! You just need to practice the incantation and the wand motion and then try to conjure the “star”, no minimum post count for this, feel free to do it in one post or five! Just label the posts if you have more than one. If you need Kalen put his name up in the header! Thanks! Class will move on in about 72 hours or soThanks!! |