Marigold GRINNED SO HARD AT AIREY it made her cheeks hurt. She really loved the man, he was just SO energetic. She nodded at his response to her answer. OH. And there was singing. Happy Birthday, people-she-did-not-know. She was pretty sure the girl was friends with Adi, though. AAAANYWAAAYY. Pluto. Marigold pouted. She haaaad named one of her planets for homework Pluto.

Poor Pluto. It wasn't Pluto's fault it didn't have enough gravitational pull for other objects in its path. She agreed with Airey though - they could get over it.

AND OOOOH NUTELLA. More chocolatey goodness, yeah? Marigold raised her hand with a flick of her wrist.

"Its the order of the planets in our solar system. Kinda like ROYGBIV for the rainbow."

... pnemoniac device or something?

No applause for his singing? That was disappointing. Sigh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88

"Professor, the first letter of each word represents the planets in the Solar System. M, V, E, M, J, S, U, N. So its Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune,"

"Precisely, Mr. Strand," he nodded towards the Hufflepuff before moving on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

As Lux listened to the Professor speak, she began taking notes, feeling happy that she had managed to get a question right. While the Pluto issue seemed to sadden some of the students in the room, she was not bothered by it. And soon it was time for another question. Raising her hand, she offered a guess. "Is it a mnemonic device to remember the names of the planets in our solar system? The first letter in each word is also the first letter in each of the planet names." And that was the only guess she could venture.

Oh! The buzz word of the moment. "Very good, Miss Carrington, it IS a mnemonic device," he nodded.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlytherinSistah

His head refocused on his parchment and he finished writing down the criteria for what made planets planets, ending it with...

Sayonara, Pluto! You poser of the Kuiper belt.

Ah yes, note taking. At least that is what the astronomer assumed was going on from what he could see of the Slytherin's movements.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachieRu

Ooooh. She knew this. She knew it. And it made Grace beam. "Isn't that like a saying to remember all of the planets that are in our solar system." It was making her hungry actually. Could she got an have some Nutella. Even though like she'd already tried it? No. Maybe not. She'd have some more later. Maybe in the feast. If they had some. She didn't know. Oh well. Okaay. Did she have more to add to her answer? "My mom said that there was another saying when Pluto was a planet? Like something like... My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas"

"Excellent, Miss Paton," he replied to the girl, giving her a small nod and wrinkly lipped smile. Oh...pizza...that sounded quite good right now. Or maybe it didn't. Grease did weird things to his insides and bowel movements.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry174

Laura looked at the Professor as he spoke about the statement. "It means your mother was really hungry and wanted you to try some Nutella, I'd much rather eat a Mars Bar." Laura beamed they were nice.

"Actually, my mother had never had Nutella until a few years ago when I brought some back from an excursion to Nutellaland with Professor Romanos," he informed Miss Hyde. Not that she had asked to be, but story time was always appropriate. "How very Harry Potter of you, with the Mars bar. I prefer Milky Way myself. Did you know that if you put a Milky Way bar on top of milk it will float because of it's low density? It was a favorite pastime of mine as a child to float Milky Way Magic Stars in my glass of milk and pretend I was an astronaut exploring space. Occasionally I would pretend my mouth was a black hole, my father encouraged this you see to get me to finish my meals, and I would suck up the stars and all the milk in the glass together. Quite delicious."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady of Light

She finished taking down what he said before raising her hand, "Isn't it a way to remember the names of the planets?" Basically what everyone said. The girl sighed and absentmindedly started to doodle Lou's name on her parchment. ... Erm. Wait, what? What was she doing? Blushing slightly, she scratched his name multiple times before leaning back against her seat.

"You are correct, Miss Starr," he nodded, his mind lost in thoughts about Mily Way bars and the actual Milky Way itself. He rather fancied some Milky Way Magic Stars right now. "Wonder if the house elves have any...." he mused out loud.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Penguin

The professor asked what his European mother giving him nutella meant. Ian raised his hand. It means you have a wonderful mother who loves you very much. I very much want some nutella now. Do they have some in the kitchen? I'd never thought to ask for any.

"I DO have a wonderful mother," he grinned back at the Hufflepuff. Points for complimenting his mother? He felt it was appropriate, but then he feared that students' noses would begin turning brown because of it and instead restrained himself. "I don't know about the kitchen...but myself and Professor Romanos both keep rather large stashes in both our respective offices."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

Like a lightbulb turning on, the answer came to him. "Oh! That's a mnemonic device to remember the names of the planets and their order," he explained, raising his hand. NOW that made sense!

WHERE WAS HIS THANK YOU FROM YOU, YOUNG MAN?! Only just serenading you on your BIRTHDAY! Could he be overly dramatic? Wait, no. He couldn't. Back would go out and then class would end early again. Not going to happen.

"Very good, Mr. Newell."

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

The Gryffindor was onto her second...third....no fourth coin when she heard talk of "Nutella??? We're getting nutella? Oh yes please. I haven't finished all my chocolate, is it fine if I can spread some on mine? If not I can run down to the kitchen, get us all some bread or something. I dunno. I don't care what. Nutella?"

"I don't have any Nutella with me, Miss Cambridge. Nor can I dismiss you to go get some now," he replied with a firm shake of the head. "Just keep eating your chocolate. Did you know that chocolate can help with memory?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

Nutella. More food? No thank you. But yes, we know what that is. "A mnemonic device to remember the planets." Said with very little enthusiasm and merely a glance from the Head Girl but she was still listening, okay? Her old brain had already almost forgotten her anger. Almost.

GUESS WHAT, MISS ELLA?! WE ACTUALLY LIKE FRUIT CAKE SO BRING ON THE FRUIT CAKE! If nothing else it would make a festive doorstop come the holidays. Or so his thoughts would have been had he known what the Head Girl was thinking. But Alas.

Well someone sure seemed to have their wand in a knot. "Right you are, Miss Ella."

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Adi went red. Those two didn't have moons? Ugh! "Sorry, Professor. I didn't know that,'' he muttered. But he knew now, right? Yes? Good.
..........................

"My very European mother just served us Nutella". Yes, yes! Adi knew this one. Feeling much more confident now about this answer, he raised his hand. "By taking the first letter of each word we can name the planets.'' Yep! That was a nice and simple way to remember the names. But of course it would only work if one knew them.

"Well now you know," he grinned, his tone reminiscent of a certain Science Guy. "And you are correct. Very good."

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

... He had chocolate. The Head Boy took up a piece of chocolate coin and started unravelling it. Carefully. Slooooooowly. When he had freed up quite a bit of the coin, he bit some off before picking up his quill and jotting down some notes into his journal. My very European mother just served us Nutella. Mnemonic device to remember the planets and their order. Got it.

Peering towards the Head Boy for a moment, the astronomer gave the young man an approving nod. Note taking was good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Penguin

Ian's ears perked up when he heard someone volunteer to go get stuff from the kitchen to put nutella on. He beamed and nodded as he loudly proclaimed (so the professor could hear him) That's an excellent idea. I think she should go to the kitchen!. I mean, nutella is amazing on it's own but on something like a biscuit it is just out of this world. This is astronomy and that's what it's all about, right? Ian was pleased with his little bit of pun-o-graphy

"No no no nooooooo, no one is leaving this classroom," he said while giving the desk in front of him three firm taps with his knuckles. "Now if everyone wants to accompany me for an after lesson snack with Nutella that is something entirely different. Can see if the house elves have any wonton skins to make Nutella ravioli topped with powdered sugar." Small pause as he old man drooled down the left side of his mouth. Drip drip drip onto the top of his desk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivana R

Anna raised her hand, "This sentence is a way some people use to memorize the order of the planets from the Sun to beyond. I think this kind of technique is stupid, as lot of people just learn the sentence and can't remember what it really means," she said, rolling her eyes. Mnemonic things annoyed her a bit.

Well, excuuuuuuse us. The professor looked temporarily reminiscent of a kicked cruppy - big ol' sad old man eyes and everything - but tried not to shed any tears. "While you are entitled to your opinion, Miss Glasswall, I will respectfully disagree. Mnemonics help improve memory because they train the mind to look for patterns in information and they create meaningful associations with information while also allowing you to cross-reference the information in different parts of your memory. Those who do as you say and do not remember are not truly exercising their brains. In fact, a study from 1967 by Gerald R. Miller shows that students who regularly used mnemonic devices increased test scores up to 77%"

So eat your chocolate kids and use mnemonics. Good for the brain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

My very European mother just served us Nutella... hm? Brynn loved Nutella and her mother, well she was Welsh.. she wasn't sure if that counted as very European or not, but she nodded along to some of the other answers and jotted them down. Mnemonic device, she was pretty sure she knew what that was especially after a student or two explained it a little more/ Each planet was assigned a word in that, yes? "Which planet is the Nutella one?" she mused aloud. That one sounded best of all. She chewed a little more on her chocolate coin as she mulled over thoughts of planets made of Nutella.. yum.

"Neptune," he nodded. She had just asked which planet the word Nutella was associated with in the sentence, yes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

...and now moving on to planets. Again. "It means your European mother has really awesome taste," she answered, raising her hand. "Let's invite her to class one day." Meh. She knew the real meaning, though. "Just kidding. It's the order of the planets from the Sun on out."

There. See? He got a thank you from THIS twin. Awesome points to you, Miss Newell. And none for Caleb Newell.

"She always was rather sophisticated with her tastes," he nodded in response. Oh, his mother? "I supposed I could owl her and see if she fancied a visit. I am sure she would much prefer to meet in Hogsmeade than the castle. Especially given the current climate." She wasn't all that young herself, you know?

Actually...he hadn't told his family about his state. Oops.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expecto-Penguin

Kace gave the professor a quizzical look when he told him to go the the kitchens to look for a cane. "Ermm i do not know if you can find a cane in the kitchen but i will look..." he told him trying to disguise his chuckle.
.....

"Professor nutella represents that you like good food!"

Merlin, didn't Hufflepuffs know what was in the kitchen? It was only RIGHT there under their noses on a daily basis. "Sure you can. I find them in there all the time." Where else did they think those candy canes hung on the trees came from?

Chuckle. "I do like good food. Especially baked goods."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grrr..Meow

Bay was too busy eating his chocolate, he only heard the Professor say the beginning part of the question… it was something about Nutella… what is that?? looking around he seemed to see a lot of people starting to get real excited about getting "Nutella?" hmmm oh well..

he had no idea what the writing on the blackboard was supposed to mean but Bay took out some parchment and made some notes of other students thoughts.

And note taking from Mr. Bay. Excellent excellent. Good to see...or sort of see since he didn't have his glasses on.

SPOILER!!: Justine! <33

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicole black

He hadn't heard her? He Hadn't Heard Her??? What the hell was Justine supposed to do now? Obviously if she wanted the points she would have to repeat herself, but to say it all again, would be just so thoroughly exhausting and Justine didn't think she had the energy. The poor girl sat there blinking with her mouth open, looking like someone had short circuited her hard drive. "I said; zee vord planet comes from zee Ancient Greek for 'Vandering Star," and is defined as any celestial body zat 'as enough mass to be shaped by its own gravity. sough zis definition 'as been much contested by scientist zrough zee years, personally, I'm not quite sure if zee idea is a correct one, I believe more data is really needed before ve can properly define such a zing," Justine said, almost shouting in her effort to be heard by the Professor, because Justine would not stand for being unnoticed, especially since her answer had bee so good!
She took it back, this Professor was not adorable.

Justine listened carefully as the Professor explained about the IAU, Pluto (and its diminished status), Nasa discovering over seven hundred new planets, and nutella, which confused her, because she had never heard of nutella before and didn't know what it might have to do with Astronomy.
After a few minutes contemplation however, the young girl began to see that it wasn't the nutella that she needed to pay attention to, but the words on the chalkboard.

"it is one of zose zings, a, uh... a mnemonic device? Yes, it's to remember zee order," Justine said, her hand raised in the air. [B]"Its to teach you zee order of zee planets.... Mercury, venus, earth... Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and uh... Neptune," Justine said.

EH?

Oh, was she providing the class with some review from the previous lessons? He gathered as much from the whole 'wandering star' mention, so he flashed her a smile and a nod. "Thank you for that." Still hadn't entirely heard it all, but oh well.

"Very good. Yes. Good."

Nuteeeeeeeeeeeeellaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deezerz

She covered the half eaten piece of chocolate and put it back in the pot. "It was a present from you." Or did she imagine that? Oh Merlin. "Sorry, sir--professor." SAD 'cause she was really enjoying it. Wibble.

BLINK BLINK. Airey stared at Miss Wayne for a few long moments trying to take in this totally new information before something clicked.

"OH! YES! IT WAS!" he exclaimed as his eyes went back to the chocolate. "Never mind, Miss Wayne. Must have slipped my mind. Please, continue to enjoy."

And now he really wanted a chocolate but his fingers were struggling far too much to get the wrapper off. SIGH!

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty

Oh, it was someone's birthday. Or two someones' birthday. Cool!

Anyway, they were moving on. And instead of repeating everyone's answers, Layla started taking down notes. Because there was absolutely no other way she could say that it was a mnemonic for remembering the planets. But while she was writing, she opened up another chocolate coin and popped it in her mouth.

Good good. Someone was getting their brain juices all fired up thanks to the chocolate. Excellent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemon

"To be specific," insert stifled giggles here, "it's an expression mnemonic device. And it also means that your mum could be like that evil witch who wants to fatten you up and eat you in those storybooks. Can't trust those Europeans, sirrrr. Nope."

Hehehe. She was European. Gonna EAT HIM. Hehehehehehe.

Senile Alice, clearly, was an issue.

"I would appreciate it if you would not talk about my mother that way, Miss Fischer," he said with a frown. Not to mention he had always been a bean pole, so there! "But you do bring up a good little bit of information. There are actually 9 types of mnemonics for better memory. Something for all of you to think about as OWLs and NEWTs approach along with your end of the term exams. Take two points for that reminder, Miss Fischer."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lockhartian

Now he was talking about...oh. Well, yes, a mnemonic. How was this related to Pluto? Hadn't they been discussing Pluto all along? OH NO WAIT, THEY WERE DISCUSSING PLANETS. "A mnemonic. Order of the planets from the center of our solar system," SIGH, she cannot say sun "May I remind you, Professor, you also did this with North, East, South and West." Heh. West. Wait, what? Was Lex really asking for nutella?

Remind him? Just in case he forgot? "How very kind of you, Miss Wisteria," he chuckled. "As I was telling Miss Glasswall, mnemonics are extremely useful AND beneficial, so I do encourage the use of them."

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScarletCharm104

"Its the order of the planets in our solar system. Kinda like ROYGBIV for the rainbow."

... pnemoniac device or something?

"Yes, very good Miss McAlistor," he nodded. "As Miss Fischer just pointed out, My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nutella is specifically a expression mnemonic where as ROY G. BIV is name mnemonic." Just for some more food for thought.

Food....chocolate...chocolate coin in his hand...still couldn't get the blasted wrapper off...

"Would anyone be so kind as to unwrap a few of these coins for me?" he asked. His arthritic hands just couldn't grip things like they used to.

Yes, no? He was going to move the lesson along while he waited all forlornly there sitting at his desk while holding up his chocolate coin.

"As the majority of you said, My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nutella is a mnemonic device to help remember the order of the planets in our Solar System starting with the planet closest to the Sun and moving outwards. That order is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune," he said, giving his wand another flick towards the chalk to have it write each name of the planet vertically under the letter associated with it. "Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are what are known as terrestrial planet, which are the sort of planets you made in class and for homework, and are named as such because they all have solid rocky surfaces. These planets are often referred to as the Inner Solar System." He paused for a moment to allow students to catch up with their note taking and thoughts. "Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are all planets called the gas giants, although I personally prefer the term Jovian, and are refereed to as the Outer Solar System. In 2005, back when Pluto was still considered a planet, a tenth planet was found, called Eris and was named after the god of argument because it caused a lot of arguments among astronomers." HAHAHAHA. He still found it amusing. Astronomers had such an odd sense of humor. "However, as already discussed, it was decided that Pluto and Eris would be called dwarf planets, in addition to Ceres, the largest asteroid."

Okay, so maybe he was still laughing a bit about the name of the "10th planet" but he had finally calmed down enough to continue. And no gas was passed this time. So lucky all you students!

"So. Inner planets. Small and rocky. Outer planets. Large and gassy." Heh. Gassy. HEH! "Why do you think this is? Why do we not see large gassy planets among the inner planets and why no small rocky ones among the outer planets?"

OOC: this will probably be our last question before we start on any activities thank you all once again for your patience <3

If Inner and Outer planets/Solar Sytem talk makes you think of Sailor Moon...you are not alone *wiggles*

Class will resume approximately 24 hours from the time of this post.

Caleb blushed. He had SORT OF nodded off when Flamsteed started singing and missed it, and now he could hear it in his voice that he was mad that he hadn't thanked him. Whoops. He had been too focused on jumping back in the lesson!

"Thanks for singing, Professor. It was lovely," he said with a smile.

Ok, onto the question now. "Perhaps there was more helium and stuff out there? In the further reaches of space? Plus they're further from the sun and that probably has something to do with it," he explained. Yeah, that made sense right? Except for Pluto.

Ian listened to the professor's responses. He had seemed rather pleased that Ian had complimented his mother, but Ian's head drooped a little when Professor had said there would be no one leaving the room. Did that mean no one would be getting nutella? Ian thought to himself. He raised his hand and asked, in a rather wobbly, slightly weepy voice, Professor, you gave out chocolate coins, but I have an allergy. Why can't we get some biscuits to go with our nutella? Ian looked around for the nutella and was disappointed when he didn't see any.

Ian heard the question about gassy planets and was quick to answer, Perhaps their digestive systems can't break down the proteins as well as the rocky ones? Ian was pleased with this response. It was clever (at least in his own mind) and it sort of addressed the actual question.

Bays jaw dropped.. omg why couldn't his brain think right now.. ughhhhhh… he was happy to have his good looks back but he'd like his brain and young bones… he might as well give an answer.. raising his hand "errrrr….. maybe the "dark stuff"…i mean space.. in-between the planets are filled with different things??" ughhh he sounded so stupid.. back to what he knew best.. note taking..

Bay jotted down more notes of what other students were saying.

The talk about nutella was making the man boy hungry and reminisce his more youthful days. The ones where he'd enjoy placing some nutella over his three scoops of ice cream. Or the ones where he'd spread some nutella over the strawberries that were sitting on top of his pancakes. It was a pity that sugary foods didn't sit well with him anymore.

Sigh. The good ol' days.

Alec shook his head and tried to focus back on the lesson instead. He had completely missed Flamsteed's request for someone to open his chocolate coin for him which might have been lucky for the man. He'd find someone who was... younger, right? Someone who was less likely to fumble with a coin and make a fool of themselves. And someone who'd have less difficulty in getting up from their seat.

Instead, he'd answer this question, yeah? Yeah. "Professor?" he called, raising his hand in the air, "Wouldn't the gases of the planets near the Sun be... vaporised during the early days? Because of how hot the Sun is?" This was his logic on the matter. ... Pause. "Maybe that's why the planets that are further away are... larger. ... Because... of all the gas."

Now that was a good question. Tough one but good nonetheless, Sander thought to himself. He listened as the other students shared their answers while he tried to think of a plausible answer to that question.

When he thought he had one probable answer, Sander raised his hand and gave his answer.

"Professor could it be because the inner planets are closer to the sun where the temperature is higher? Heavier rocky and materials thrive in higher temperatures and end up condensing into solid bits."

....and the outer planets? Hmmm...

"As for the outer planets, the temperature levels are lower and even though there are still rock and metal still present, there is more hydrogen and helium around them than there is with the inner planets. More hydrogen and helium makes for a more gaseous planet."

Did he make sense? Sander decided to wait and see.

Delilah listened and took notes as Airey continued with the lesson, although she couldn't help but think about Nutella. YUM. She was kind of hungry..Hm. Yeah, she was going to have to visit the kitchens once the class was over. She felt like having some Nutella with toast, yes.

..... UH? Bliiink. Back to the what Airey was saying.. She'd almost missed his question, oops? She raised her hand, trying to concentrate on the answer than NUTELLA. Gosh, Dels. Focus. "Uh... well, the inner planets are closer to the sun, right? So.. like, when the solar system formed, the rocks and gas in the inner ring of the solar system was released much sooner or faster as compared to the outer ring? And so... uh.. the planets that were formed in the outer ring had more..err.. rocks to collect? And.. yeah. That's why they are bigger, I suppose." Right. She managed to say something, even if she wasn't sure if it made any sense.

"My mother's lovely, too," Sophie said, continuing their little conversation that had all started with the Happy Birthday song. "Except, she doesn't serve us Nutella. She brews potions." Anna Newell was no Molly Weasley. Baking and such just wasn't her thing, although she did cook pretty good.

Anyway...

Did she have to raise her hand to answer, since she was already talking to the professor about mothers and the such? Ehh...better to be safe than sorry. She raised her hand. "Is it because of the Sun? I'd think planets closer to the Sun would have to be made of stuff like rocks, so that stuff wouldn't clash with the gas from the Sun," she said. "We wouldn't want the solar system to go BOOM! Then the planets on the outside, they're okay to have lots of gas, because they're further away from the Sun."

...and THAT was Sophie's opinion on the matter.

Awesome, Lux had done well. Beaming, she opened another chocolate and popped it in her mouth before taking more notes. Her brain was really flowing because this was interesting stuff! Oh, time for another question. This one was harder, and she honestly had no idea since she was not an expert with this kind of thing by any means. Didn't hurt to venture a guess though, so she raised her hand. "Does it have anything to do with proximity to the sun? Maybe gas planets can't exist within a certain distance near the sun? And rock planets can't exist a certain distance away from it?" Hoping that she wasmr sounding totally stupid, Lux prepared herself to take more notes.

"You say it because you're an old rat and probably are suffering from Alzheimer... I don't like mnemonic sentences and I'll never use them in my whole life. They are stupid!" Annabeth whispered between her teeth while she was apparently smiling at the teacher.



Annabeth hadn't written her homework and she hadn't the slightest idea about the issue. Though she could venture a guess. She always could. Anna raised her hand.

"Professor, I promise I'll think about the mnemonic stuff," she grinned, "and I can open the coins for you, though I think we should consider that they are made with a large amount of sugar and hydrogenated fat, which are no healthy... Well, anyway, about your question... I think it's due the proximity to the Sun. It should have something to do with the gravity and the centripetal force... Erm... the high temperatures of the Sun...and solid materials as iron and other metallic elements." She made a pause to breath, then added, "Inner planets, the rocky ones, have shorter periods around the Sun, it means that their velocity is probably higher if compared to the gassy planets. If the velocity is higher, the centripetal force is higher too, it means that the particles which compose the planet are constantly being forced to the centre of the planet, keeping them closer as a solid. And their gravity are not enough to deal with the high temperature of the Sun, so the gaseous elements which are more distant from the surface go away. It's why the air is thinner at high height.
The planets which are more distant from the Sun suffer less from its temperature, so they can hold bigger gaseous belt around their centre." She nodded, although she wasn't sure about the centripetal force stuff.

Inner planets were small and rocky while outer planets were large and gassy. Interesting. Very interesting indeed. Adi had not known that and he scribbled the new piece of information down.

So exactly why were they that way? The Puffer was unsure but he raised his hand anyway. "Maybe it's because of the Sun, Professor. Heat and gasses may not be the most ideal match and that's why the inner planets are rocky.''

Kace nodded and said, "I will be on the lookout.." He didn't think they were on the same page. He wasn't looking for candy canes but maybe he could find some. He smiled when the professor agreed with him. I mean Nutella was good stuff. If he could have everyday without getting fat he would. "Professor could we have a nutella day in the future and you can make foods in shapes of planets?" he suggested.

Now onto the third question. He heard that the little rocky planets are more towards the sun and the large and gassy....Heh gassy *chuckle* were far out away from the sun. Why was that? He thought about it and raised his hand to answer his question. "Professor may it has something to do with the change in heat and the atmosphere?"

Okay, this was A LOT of talk. It took her a couple of minutes to sort through everything and write it down, and she was afraid she was still missing bits and pieces. But the redhead was doing the best she could. Her hand cramped up twice, but she was rapidly scribbling all of the notes onto her paper with her quill. Her stupid glitter pen ran out of ink a week ago. She was still kind of mourning the loss. Meaning: she was stiiilll sad when she had to use a real quill.

And anyway, Inner planets and outer planets. Well... okay. Were the inner planets called that because they were on the inside part of the solar system? That made sense, riiight? To her it did. And were the inner planets the gassy ones or was that just spread out. Why were some planets gas formed and others rock formed? How could you form something out of just gas? It was a lot to thin about and it kind of made Caelen dizzy.

And then there was the dwarf planets. She was still mad about that. Because it brought up a question. If planets could be considered not-planets because of height, then did people count too? She was really short. Was she a dwarf-human? Why was science so mean to the short planets?

Okay focus. Gassy planets and then the rocky planets. Why couldn't you see the inner gassy planets. Oohh, maybe it was time to go on about her idea. And quite possibly throw in a question or two. Whatever came to mind.


"Well, maybe the rock planets are easier to see because they're actually made out of a tangible substance. Not that gas isn't tangible, but one is obviously bigger than the other and one probably reflects the sun better so we can actually.. ya know, see it." That was her -probably wrong- answer and she was sticking to it. Because, yes.

Laura hadn't ask for the Professor life story but anyway life went on. She raised her hands "A fly once landed on my mars bar and I told everyone the truth." Laura beamed. "There is life on Mars." Laura had loved it when that had happened though of course she had through the Mars bar in the bin and got a new one. "I think they are just hiding." Laura said she wasn't paying much attention anyone that thought Pluto wasn't a planet was crazy.

What were they talking about again, Nutella? Ella nommed on some chocolate grumpily and listened for a bit, occasionally taking down some notes. She was familiar with the inner and outer planets but not their technical names. Terrestrial and Jovian, okay. Then the blonde carefully wrote each planet under the correct title and glanced up again at Old man Pluto hater, wondering what his next question would be.

Why rocky inners vs. gassy outers? Ella sat quietly and considered this for a while. "Doesn't it have to do with gravity?" Possibly, yeah? "I mean, the outer planets have more mass so they have more um...of a gravitational field thing? And if gas is attracted by the gravity, the outer planets would have more?"

... .... ...Yeah. Hopefully that made sense. She was just going to have more chocolate now.

Caelen nibbled on some chocolate whiel listening to other responses. She liked this class. Mostly because they got to nom on chocolate, but for other reasons too. The professer was really energetic, even when half of the student body didn't seem to be. And the redhead knew why. Their student bodies were getting old. Hehehe, see what she did there? She was cute.

And Nutella. Nom. Nom heaven. That stuff was goood. She had some once and never wanted to go back to regular peanut butter again. What WAS regular peanut butter when you had the hazlenut stuff? She swore she was addicted. She was going to need Nutella rehab. But uhh, she was probably getting sidetracked over here.

Smiling to herself, she wrote down all of the responses and waited to cross them out. The Ravenclaw didn't just do this to pick the right answer however. She also did it to see the evoloution of people's responses. The kid DID have an explanatinon, so this wasn't toootaally creepy.

Until this last Christmas, she was never quite sure what her dad did. She knew he helped people and worked in an office. But a lot of people did that. Her mom did that before Rockwell was born. Or so she heard. But she never actually knew what his job description was.

Well, she learned. He was a psychologist, specifically developmental psychologist. And she was kind of interested in helping him with a new project of how the teenage and preteen mind worked over the course of a school year. The idea was a total snoozer to her, but her dad said he would pay her in chocolate and she was there.

And this teacher was always really fun and kind. And he told her where she could buy the ceiling stars she wanted reeeally badly. So that was a giant plus in his direction. She unwrapped another piece of chocolate and put it in her mouth, smiling and crumbling the silver wrapper in her hands.

Toby was flagging again. Gosh, so sleepy. He supposed it was that trek aaaaaaaaaaaall the way up to the top of the castle. But no... he would not give in to the temptations of sleep. Not again.

Blinking furiously in an effort to keep his eyelids occupied so they wouldn't droop shut again, Tobias squinted in Flamsteed's general direction and subconsciously turned his good ear closer to the man to hear him properly. Notes were taken, but the scratching of Toby's quill somehow managed to drown out Airey's voice, maybe because of his weird hearing, so he was trying to also focus on taking notes as quietly as possible, which meant he kept missing bits of what the professor was saying. Eventually, Tobias just decided to set down his quill and listen and hope he remembered. If not, he could always borrow notes from someone. Y'know. Initiative.

But... uhhh... he didn't have a clue how to answer that question. Eh. He raised his hand.

"Is it like a gravity thing maybe? If they're super far out and small but terrestrial maybe their mass isn't enough for the pull of the sun? Like they're too heavy and far away and so wouldn't get caught in the orbit loop thingermajig, and the rock things that are way out there but are in orbit aren't planety enough to be called planets, because they aren't big enough to have their own gravity, like poor Pluto. And then the huuuuge gas planets probably can't live closer to the sun 'cause of heat and that, like it's better for 'em further back in the cold."

Worth a shot? Lots of terminology in his answer, too; Airey should be proud.

"M'not talking 'bout your mother. Talking 'bout evil witches, sir. You're talking 'bout your mother."

Hehehehehe. More stifled giggles. And points! What was this class about again?

Oh, right. Spacey stuff. Deep down, there was an Alice dying to burst out through the senility and give a proper, informative answer, but it didn't quite work out that way. "So there's space, right prof? Right? And in space, we have a Soooolaaaar System. Solar like the Sun 'cause stuff revolves AROUND it. It's the center of everything. Like West Odessa." Nods. Serious nods.

"And in that Soooolaaaar System, there's this line. S'called the... the cold... permafr... no! No, I got it, sir! Frost line. Mhm." Mhmmm. "S'this boundary. And beyond it, ices can condense. But within it, only metals and rocks. Hydrogen compounds can condense into ices away from the sun 'cause the temperatures are cooler, but NEAR it, the compounds stay gassy. That means they got vaporized, like Summers said. Go Summers!" Alec got a very enthusiastic thumbs UP.

This class was exhausting.

Deflated Lex was deflated.

There would be no nutella for her even though the Professor had just brought it up. Why so mean Professor? Honestly. There were just some things that you never mentioned infront of her unless she could have some after. Nutella was one of those. Now there was a new void in her heart that also needed to be mended with the consumption of chocolate. Professor Airey was thinking ahead.

Lex undid another gold coin--did he just say they helped with memory?? Lex whipped around so she was facing Lottie. SEEEEEEE!! CHOCOLATE WOULD HELP HER PASS HER OWLS!! It was GOOD! Was Lottie even listening? She should have been and the Gryffindor had no problems repeating.

So yes, she WOULD sit here eating her chocolate and being happy with life. This was turning into a good Astronomy class.

"I'll be agreeing with whoever you think made the most legit point Professor." Yup.

The corner of his parchment was kind of interesting so interesting he had missed the next question and without looking up he really didn't hear a word of it. When the corner of his parchment ripped he finally looked up. Oh class yeah he was there wasn't he.

He tried to focus and listen. Planets and talk about some weird named thing to remember planets. He was moving his lips too quickly to follow so he had to really lean to hear what he was saying. Inner planets rock.. Outer gassy. Quiet laughter started with the gassy part. The planets were gassy.. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA gassy... He said gassy.. THE PROFESSOR SAID GASSY.. BAHAHAHAHA

Did anyone else find this funny? It was hilarious really. Putting his hand up he tried to look all serious. "Professor gassy planets have to be the outer plants, because the inner planets couldn't stand the smell." Hehehe, you know because they are GASSY!!!

Nigel did have to admit Pluto was the punchline of a good number of jokes. Especially the noes with the dog Pluto. They were really bad. The now distracted Prefect got lost thinking about Pluto and of course Pluto jokes and missed the next question.

So mnemonics. Why couldn't they just have some nutella. It did sound pretty good. Though Nigel did think he was really talking about his mother at first. Very strange to think his mother is living considering how old he is right now. Oh now talking about the gas planets. Nigel did have a question. Though kind of random but relating to Jupiter.

"Random question. Is is true that 2..3 earths can fit in the Great Red Spot on Jupiter?"

Too bad nobody made any Uranus jokes or he had just missed the thinking of Pluto.

That was a REALLY dumb question, yeah? Then again, Ascanius found to expect no less from the likes of Glitter Trousers. That man was the king of saying and asking ridiculous questions that not only bored the boy out of his mind.

Key word in that last bit? Bored.

It is because the PLANETS, the rocky ones, were rocky due to how close they were to the sun. A gassy planet couldn't maintain their form closer to the sun. Whereas the rocks father away from sun would not be able to sustain a planet-like form without the heat to the sun. It was ALL about the sun, yeah?

And he could have explained that better and in more detail in front of the entire class. But he wasn't gonna answer. Nope.

Hmph. Mo twitched irritably in his seat and rolled his shoulders until they popped. He was sort of bored with this planet talk, mostly because he wasn't able to keep up with his notes and ended up just drawing a blobby version of the solar system along the margin of his parchment.

And there the professor went asking questions with only one answer, and Mo here was too slow to answer in time. He raised his hand to answer anyway. "Too many beans in those outer planet burritos, Señor."

Tessa thought for a moment about the question the Professor had asked as she nibbled on another piece of chocolate. Finally, when she had thought of a logical sounding answer, she raised her hand.

"Professor, could it be because of the planets' closeness to the sun? If the gaseous planets were too close to the sun's heat, the gas may not last long. Or, depending on what makes up the gaseous atmosphere, the planet may not last long." BOOM, essentially. At least, that was her guess. "So, we are left with rockier planets closer to the sun because the gases that used to surround them- if they ever existed, were bruned off by the sun?" she ventured further.

Ooc: Sailor Venus... Sailor Mercury... Sailor Mars, Mars, Mars... Sailor Jupiteeeeeer