| Chimaera
Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Baker Street
Posts: 30,215
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Marcus Briody Cole
Graduated
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Nadia Atreyu-Rehman
Gryffindor Sixth Year  x8  x8
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SPOILER!!: Responses Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat 
Brandon himself had understood that the pictures were not from the meteor shower he'd seen, but he didn't know that they were comets. He filed that information away. "Comets aren't really rocks, professor. They are made of ice and dust." That was the only difference he knew of, though he guessed that there were others. He looked at the pictures again, looking for a clue. And looking because they were pretty. Celeste slowly strolled around the classroom as she listened for her students to speak on their answers. “Half-correct Mr. Fox.” she confirmed the first year’s answer, still giving him an encouraging smile since he was on the right track. “Make-up is definitely one of the differences. Though comets are made of ice and GAS…any dust involved are the meteors that they have picked up into their tails in passing.” Quote:
Originally Posted by Waddles Sophia gave Brandon a big smile when he sat down next to her, because having friends to sit by in class certainly made it more fun. She listened intently to his explanation of comets, then raised her hand to add on. "And meteors are comets on fire!" she said. That explained why they could see lots of meteors sometimes, and only one comet at a time. Fire in the night sky would be a lot easier to spot than...what was it Brandon had said? Ice and dust. “Not exactly, Ms. Svensson,” Celest remarked to the girl’s answer, though it did amuse her. “They are technically two separate things,” she explained. Meteors weren’t a type of comet but could be part of one, if said comet did what she had remarked to Mr. Fox’s answer. “Meteors are made up of rock and metal and look to be on fire because they are burning up as they move through the Earth’s atmosphere.” Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 While he was used to seeing students yawn during the Astronomy lessons {which was quite understanding}, Jude still couldn’t figure out at the same time why this was so. Like… Astronomy was the most exciting lesson! {Sorry, Hady!} No matter the time of these lessons, he’d always be wide awake.
The Hufflepuff drew his attention back to the images on the walls again, once more studying them. Such pretty things they were, all celestial objects were in their own way. “To add to what Brandon said,’’ he began when called upon. “Comets orbit the sun and can vaporise when they get too close to it. Meteoroids are pieces of an asteroid or comet, and usually the pieces are small. But when the meteoroids get close to or enter the Earth's atmosphere, they're called meteors.” There was actually quite a bit more Jude wanted to add, including to Sophia's answer but there were still a bit of students left to contribute to the lesson. So he’ll just be here, quiet for now. The professor nodded as Jude expounded on the younger boy’s answer, the woman continuing her circuit. “A very good explanation, Mr. Anders.” And it was. They might be separate, but they did often have that connection between them. And meteors changed their identity depending on what was happening to them. Quote:
Originally Posted by Charely Potter
Freddie probably could've taken a nap here with such beautiful sights in Astronomy with the star gazing that takes place in the night sky. But he felt energized now, having stayed up past the couple hours were he was feeling tired. But now it was question time.
"Oh, Comets are something we look forward to seeing, while Meteors we sort of hope don't come our direction and wipe us out!" Freddie said. Professor Gert likely was looking for more technical differences, but this was the first thing that popped in his head, whether right or wrong.
And there was another…interesting answer from Mr. McLeod. “Well I suppose that’s one way to look at it, “she remarked, “because comets tend to remain outside our atmosphere so we’re seeing them from afar and seem less of a danger instead of the meteors that may fall to earth in a meteor shower.” Both were still something to look forward to. “Though as I mentioned back during the Ursid meteor shower, most aren’t that harmful and should one that poses a danger arise, there are plans in place to help take care of the situation.” No need to worry about going the way of the dinosaurs anytime soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy Between the cute little owl and the fun pictures on the walls, there was so much going on that Desiree had a hard time focusing as the lesson began. Reluctantly tearing her eyes away from the nearest picture, she faced front and listened to Professor Gert. Ohh, so those pictures were comets, not meteors. Cool!
She blinked, totally lost by the first question. What did she know about comets and meteors, other than what her classmates already said? Not much. She knew that comets came from the outer reaches of the solar system and often orbited in elliptical paths... but was that really a difference? If meteors could be pieces of comets, wouldn’t they do the same thing? Gah, she had no idea! Unsure what to say, she kept quiet for now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhoenixRising The worst part of Astronomy was that lessons were held in the evening when Apollo would much rather be in his dorm or sneaking out for a date with the girlfriend. But Professor Gert was nice and learning about the constellations just might prove useful for when he was flying and needed help sorting which direction to fly.
Distracted and because he was slightly obtuse when it came to Astronomy knowledge, he started to raise his hand at the question but then lowered it when he realized how stupid the difference was that he was going to say compared to what his peers offered. So he wrote the answer down on his parchment instead.
Meteor has six letters. Comet has five letters.
As for the quiet ones, she was watching them both. Though there was plenty of time to contribute to the lesson so she wasn’t too concerned. Ms. Marchand had appeared at first to be distracted by Watson and Celeste almost moved to get her attention herself until the fourth year seemed to right herself. And Mr. Adara-Stark may just be biding his time.
“Another significant difference is how often we see comets versus meteors,” she informed them as she finished her circuit and leaned back slightly against her desk. “While each meteor shower is often seen annually, as demonstrated in our expeditions outdoors, comets have a much wider orbit. One of the most famous comets, Halley’s Comet named after Edmund Halley the person who identified it, only comes around to be seen from Earth every 76 years. Next seen in 2137.” A good 27 years from now.
“Comets will be what we’re focusing on tonight, having already spent a decent amount of time of meteors this semester.” And she certainly didn’t want to bore them. “So next question… In history and mythology what are comets connected to?” (ooc: Forgive the lateness, I had some issues. We'll move on to a mini activity in about 48 hrs)
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