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sweetpinkpixie · 05-16-2016, 12:50 AM

One of the best things about Hogwarts' location, to those with even a moderate inclination towards observational astronomy, was the breathtaking sight each time the sun set and the dark canopy of night swept across the sky. If one were to ask Airey Flamsteed - who is currently standing looking outwards and upwards with Pebbles nestled in his arms - what his favorite thing about Hogwarts was it would be THIS view. Lack of light pollution was a stellar thing, you know? And such a pity that humanity continued to rob itself of such a basic joy. Highly illogical, really. But the man was thankful that it was always the backdrop for his lessons.

As you step into the Astronomy classroom, you find the desks in their usual semi-circle formation with a humble little addition to each desk: a single apple. Every type from Honeycrisp to Granny Smith to Grimes golden can be found methodically placed in the center of each desk and the blackboard kindly asks you that you REFRAIN FROM CONSUMING said apple.

Did you remember to use the lint roller on the small table outside of the classroom? It was there next to the sign that reads, "Not to be used as a brush for your hair" and has the signature of a former student in the bottom right corner.

So come on in and find a seat, class will begin shortly.
⌦Lesson Progression
▸ question one :: what are some universal truths about apples?
▸ question two :: describe gravity in your own words
▸ question three :: why don't penguins in Antarctica get pulled down off the earth?
▸ spell practice :: Derivo Gravitatem
▸ main activity :: instructions!

OOC: Please be sure you are familiar with Professor Flamsteed's rules BEFORE you post in this lesson. We will know if you haven't read them! All SnitchSeeker site rules apply.

This lesson has officially started! Please do not post your character arriving late unless you are willing to accept the IC consequences and simply pretend as though you have been there all along!

WhittyBitty · 05-19-2016, 04:24 AM

Was it bad that she found a flustered Professor Flamsteed rather amusing? Esme could feel for the man as something personal had been outed to the entire class, but it wasn't as if he wouldn't recover. She still couldn't get over the fact that the man had TATTOOS. What even was that.

It was mind boggling.

Onto further discussion of gravity as well as a demonstration of exactly how it worked. Esme winced. That had to hurt and it was a little difficult to understand what the man was saying while lying on the floor. Somehow she managed to grasp the gist of things. After a moment, she raised her hand to attempt a guess. "Is it because they are being pulled down towards the center of the planet?" That seemed to be the most logical explanation to her.

itsjustjesse · 05-19-2016, 04:35 AM

Melbourne Johanson looked up at Professor Flamsteed and watched with awe as he stepped on the apple and fell over. Ouch. Heh…also kind of funny…”um…” Mel felt her face heat at the eyebrow wiggle that she got from Tenacius. “I’m not saying I agree with her Tenacius” Mel whispered over to her best friend but honestly she didn’t know anything about stud muffin things.

“shhhh we shouldn’t push him to take his shirt off” Mel felt her face redden some more. Raising her hand she looked up at Professor Flamsteed, “Professor…would the earth’s liquid core help with gravity?” She asked and looked around. It made sense now didn’t it?

Felixir · 05-19-2016, 04:55 AM

A lot of this lesson was completely lost on Daxton. Not the actual science of the class, but rather all of the yelling about all sorts of things (except that it was not all yelling, but to Daxton's ears, it may as well have been). For his part, Daxton kept looking very intently out of the window, attempting to ignore anything and everything that was happening around him - not something he often did, not unless he was in real danger of being overwhelmed. As such, he missed much of the conversation, and the details of certain revelations.

But, when he had heard Airey Flamsteed's muffled voice through his covered ears, Daxton turned his head ever so slightly to watch the man himself, eager for the Astronomer to oust the ghost from the classroom and get back to the science. It seemed as though that was exactly what might happen, too, until...

Airey Flamsteed's fall to the ground and the resulting thud was almost comical. At last, Daxton uncovered his ears, then moved his hands to his desk and half-stood to peer over it and see the professor lying on the floor. And that... that was almost certainly Daxton's apple, rolling away from the scene of the crime. Daxton himself ignored the new question about gravity - though he might have provided an answer along the lines of gravity pulling in to a certain point, and creating the concept of 'down' if he had not - instead choosing to look down at Airey Flamsteed on the floor, unable to keep an oh-so-faint smile from tugging at the corners of his lips, given the amusing nature of the situation.

He continued ignoring the ghost.

MunchyBubbles · 05-19-2016, 10:28 AM

Azura jumped a bit in her desk As Professor Flamsteed went down! Eekkkk! Professor down! Should someone help him? She bit her lip worriedly as she watched him try to catch his breath and ask another question.

Why don't penguins fall off the planet?

Was that even important right now? Was he okay? She wanted to go help him, but she didn't know if that was allowed.. The tiny Ravenclaw shifted in her seat as she tried to figure out what to do..

Probably best to answer the question. Her hand moved into the air as she eyed the Professor with concern. "Since the earth is round Professor, gravity pulls everyone to the center of the circle.. It's why penguins don't fall down off the earth and why people in the South Pole aren't waking upside down! "

Okay.. That was answered.. Now was he all right?

MadMadamMalfoy · 05-19-2016, 10:53 AM

Fiyero shot a sympathetic look at Professor Flamsteed. That ghost's appearance had bern awkward for him to listen to, so he knew it had to be embarassing for the teacher! He decided not to ask any personal questions and focus on the lesson at hand. Ok, gravity...

And then Professor Flamsteed slipped on somebody's discarded apple. "Are you alright, Professor?" Fiyero asked unthinkingly. He shot an angry look at some of his classmates who seemed to think this was funny. Poor Professor Flamsteed... tonight just didn't seem to be going very well for him!

Fiyero could barely make out the next question... something about penguins and Antarctica and falling off the earth. He had no idea what the answer was, but he decided to give it a go anyway. "Because the gravitational pull is stronger on Esrth that it is in space," he guessed, hoping it didn't sound like a dumb answer.

VRSCIKA · 05-19-2016, 11:30 AM

Unenthused was probably the best description of the snakettes mood. She was watching the mass chaos rather calmly and just shaking her head slightly. There went veins popping, points loss, ridiculous shouting..... Thank you very much for that performance Airehead.....she kept the eyeroll to herself and once the question came about she bothered to answer him. "Because the earth is not flat as our dull witted ancestors once believed to be true. Our heavenly bodies are round.....much like a nice Apple. Gravity is a force that draws to the core of a planet or moon, not so simply 'down'."

**Marion Burbage** · 05-19-2016, 11:39 AM

WELL...wasn't Airey just being a bit of a stick in the mud this evening. HMMMMMMMMPH! No matter, Marion was positively BEAMING at the subject matter of the day revolving around studmuffin Sir Isaac Newton and therefore unfazed by the Astronomy's professor's unease. He would surely laugh about it all later, as he often did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Callie

Again with being told to read Hogwarts: A history. This was Davey Truebridge all over again. The teen rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. That would have been the end of it, but she found her curiosity piqued. "Why don't you attend the feasts, then?"

"Oh how kind of you to think of me, my dear," she cooed softly to the Ravenclaw as she glided just a bit closer towards her. "But Hufflepuff already has a House ghost and I do not wish to impede on his moment."

Quote:

Originally Posted by littledhampir

"Why doesn't gravity work on ghosts?" Wasn't it a law?

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH what a mighty fine question to ask, son" she chirped with a bit of an excited wiggle. "Even us ghosts are not toooooooooooootally exempt from the force hoooooooweeeeeeeever....the more mass something has, the more gravity it has. And we ghosts have no real mass to speak of. Did that answer your question, darling?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by griffin

Penelope smiled when Burbage said "well done darling" for mentioning the apple story. What was that about Professor Flamsteed having a tattoo? Of celestial movements when his little bundle of joy was born? PROFESSOR FLAMSTEED HAD A BABY??? She looked at Professor Flamsteed "You have a baby?" There were so many questions to be asked about the baby. If Flamsteed wasn't going to tell, she would just have to ask Burbage about it later. This tattoo thing sounded a lot like an astrological birth chart, not that Penelope would even dare to mention that word in this room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOH Aireyhead. Stop being such a fuddy duddy!

"A daughter!" she clucked while making excited glances towards the Astronomy professor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goblinfrog

"Hello Marion. I read about you in Hogwarts, A History," Kitty said, thinking that this was a good moment to brag. It was true, she had read about her in history - right around the same time that she had discovered the news clippings concerning the tapestry.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh why thank you darling," Marion beamed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

So far, Dot had learned several things today that had made this class completely worthwhile: 1) Flamsteed had a tattoo, 2) Flamsteed had a BABY?, and 3) Hirsch ALSO had a tattoo, although the subject was a mystery. Basically, the subject was very interesting, more interesting than it had ever been before.

Unfortunately, dear old Marion was dragging them back to the actual subject at hand. No thanks... Dot would rather dish about Flamsteed some more. "Gravity keeps your feet on the ground. It keeps us all spinning around the sun, and it keeps the moon spinning around us. It's totally invisible, but it's one of the most important and powerful forces in nature. How big is this tattoo?"

"Oh it is AAAAAAAAAAALL the way up his side!" Marion boasted on the astronomer's behalf. "The entire length, my dear!"

And then there were falling bodies everywhere. Beginning with the dear little Hufflepuff boy and followed soon after by the professor himself.

"Oh my gooooodness graaaaaaacious HEAVENS ABOVE!"

But darling Airey seemed to be alright, or at least was putting on a good show that he was so, as class continued despite the spill. But yes, please darlings, some one DOOOOOO help the other little dear up and to his seat.

Jean Granger · 05-19-2016, 11:44 AM

Carl glanced at Professor Flamsteed - glanced, because he was too busy staring at Ms Burbage - and was amused to find him staring into space with his mouth open. He must have been shocked that a ghost was revealing so much about his personal life.

The Badger's eyes widened as the Professor fell down after tripping on an apple. That must have hurt! He did not even hear the question properly but did not care. Was he okay? The boy watched with a worried expression as he struggled to speak.

laurange · 05-19-2016, 11:54 AM

Brian just nodded, sighing a little at the point loss but making no complaint despite Hufflepuff being in last place. He deserved points taken off. But the boy did grin from his position on the floor when he earned three back for that display. Unintentional as it was. Heh. However -

DID NOBODY SEE HIS DISTRESS?

NOBODY?

Really? At all?

Brian made a pathetic attempt to stand, but the second he put any weight - and this was actually weight and not mass because it was a force - on his left leg, he failed and it was back to the floor. Joy. But there was a new question and he would be dead before he let one in astronomy slide. "Because all objects on earth are not just "pulled" but are in fact accelerating towards Earth's centre of gravity - its core - at 9.8 meters per square second. To change this state of motion would require quite the significant outside force, because, well, intertia."

And with that, he was done with his answer. And since nobody wanted to help him up, proceeded to roll towards his seat. Independent action. HOORAY FOR CELL SPECIALIZATION.

*Kolyander* · 05-19-2016, 12:44 PM

Hadleigh was listening to everyone around. She really truly was paying attention. It was all so much though. Tattoo, babies, ghosts and gravity. How was one supposed to process all of this when most of it wasn't even part of the lesson?!

The sixth year shifted her eyes onto the Professor once he had begun speaking again. However her eyes shifted towards a boy in Hufflepuff colors whom was standing and- what...was the boy back on the floor?! Was Airey on the floor too now? What was happening?!

She rose to her feet since no one else was and crossed the room. Sorry Professor if she was in the wrong but no one else was doing anything. "You okay? Do you need the healer?," she asked softly offering the boy (Brian) a hand to help him to his feet. "Are you alright Professor?" she added looking over her shoulder at the man still on the ground. Did he need a hand up too?

No she wasn't going to answer the question about penguins or whatever. People being on the ground was much more important...so much so it pulled her out of her own thoughts.

Daydreamer11 · 05-19-2016, 02:13 PM

Janelle just sat back an watched the show. As ex-professor Burbage took over the class, Professor Flamsteed seemed shocked. And then, the vein began to bulge. Janelle thought he was about to blow, but he didn't. He began to talk about gravity, although she could see that he was clearly still angry, annoyed, put out? The next thing Janelle knew, he was on the floor. At first she thought it was intentional. The whole what goes up, must come down thing. Then she realized that the fall had not been staged. "Are you ok professor?", she asked with concern.

Then Professor seemed to recover enough to ask a question. Janelle thought about it for a moment and raised her hand to respond. "The penguins in Antarctica don't fall off the earth because gravity is really pulling you toward the center of the earth. So no matter where you are, you're being pulled toward whatever your "down is.". Did that make sense? It made sense inside Janelle's head anyway.

Goblinfrog · 05-19-2016, 06:11 PM

Kitty winced as first a Hufflepuff and Professor Flamsteed tripped over an apple. Ouch. She was torn between wanting to ask if he was okay, and fear that he might be angry with her if she asked.

Instead she sat straight and focused her attention back on his next question. Why weren't penguins pulled off the planet? "I agree with Esme," said Kitty in reply, though Esme was not the only one who had given that answer. "If gravity comes from the center of the planet then it wouldn't be able to pull anyone down off it."

Shanners · 05-19-2016, 10:14 PM

........... What. Was. Happening?!

Rooney was considering going to his Head of House after this lesson and complaining about the lack of education happening, given that he just wanted to eat the apple in front of him and he wasn't allowed. Actually, someone was being told off for biting into theirs and -- OH. OH! HAHAHAHAHHAAHA. Rooney couldn't help but laugh at the Professor's swift movement to the floor. That was...something fantastic. He wished there was a way he could relive it whenever he needed something good in his day.

Something funny.

This wasn't good.

This was...bad. Roo was certain he would have learned more being in his dorm.

TakemetotheBurrow · 05-19-2016, 10:19 PM

Just how exactly was Maddie supposed to pass her Astronomy NEWT when they couldn't seem to get through a lesson without some kind of spectacle? Ghosts and body art obsessed questioning and loud noises. She could feel gravity pulling her once high marks down as she watched and it wasn't pretty. This is why she preferred to teach herself things.

And no, no comments on penguins. She couldn't work like this.

*PhoenixRising* · 05-19-2016, 10:39 PM

Skylar was speechless, from the rather eccentric behaviors of their normal Astronomy Professor to the arrival of another ghost - who began teaching them?! and educating them on things that sounded rather personal in regards to Professor Flamsteed - honestly, the first year knew what gravity was but no words came out. Fortunately some of her peers weren't as reactive as she was to the oddities in the classroom.

Nonetheless, Sky tried to focus her attentions on the room and learning as best she could. Flamsteed resumed teaching them, however, continuing with if gravity pulled them down, why didn't penguins get pulled from Earth? Really? Why pick on solely Antarctica? Weren't Australians hanging upside down off the Earth too? And what kinds of questions were these? She did happen to really like Janelle's answer and it sounded very feasible. They weren't being pulled down to Earth, necessarily, but to the center of Earth.

"Because Penguins are being pulled down as well. Their version of down is opposite ours. We're being drawn toward the core." Oh, so is that why the apples? For the core reference, not the hidden stars?

Lissy Longbottom · 05-19-2016, 11:05 PM

Flamsteed always made his lessons..interesting, and that was part of the reason Scarlett loved his class so much. But was he OK after all that?! He sounded like he was going to have an asthma attack or something. Did anyone have an inhaler on them or...?

Right, he seemed...ok. So back to the lesson. Scarlett raised her hand and waited for her turn to jump into the conversation.

"Well, even though they're on the bottom of the Earth, when you're there, it's not...like you're standing upside down. Because the Earth is a sphere you're still standing right side up. And gravity pushes everything towards the center of the Earth, right? Because of...the core. Right?" she said. There were like...metals and things involved, right? She remembered from her primary muggle school classes that she'd taken before pitching a fit and demanding her dad take her out of them. Muggle school was AWFUL.

Ameh · 05-19-2016, 11:19 PM

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes YESSSSSSSSSSS.

Jaemin was so excited that they were going to be doing that spell, because he already knew how to do it. He had even been PRACTICING since they'd come back. Not every day, but a few times. The small boy was almost vibrating, he was that jazzed about this. He could show Airey how good he'd gotten at it!

But then... AIREY DOWN. AIREY DOWN. The small boy stared with wide eyes as the man slip-dropped down, and he stood up from his seat to peer over the desk at him worriedly. He was still asking a question, but he sounded like he was dying.

"Cause the gravity... pulls in... not... down, Professor are you okay?" he asked, blinking at the man before looking at the ghost. Please don't die, Airey... they didn't need two ghost professors.

Cassirin · 05-20-2016, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marion Burbage

"Oh it is AAAAAAAAAAALL the way up his side!" Marion boasted on the astronomer's behalf. "The entire length, my dear!"

And then there were falling bodies everywhere. Beginning with the dear little Hufflepuff boy and followed soon after by the professor himself.

"Oh my gooooodness graaaaaaacious HEAVENS ABOVE!"

But darling Airey seemed to be alright, or at least was putting on a good show that he was so, as class continued despite the spill. But yes, please darlings, some one DOOOOOO help the other little dear up and to his seat.

"Oh my goodness," Dot murmured, repeating the ghostly professor with a tiiiiiiiny grin. Like, it wasn't funny, and who didn't have a tattoo these days, but the professor was so stressed about it, and he was glaring and just...

Yeah.

"That's so scandalous. Thank you for telling us. About the gravity thing too... do you know any spells to counteract gravity?"

marshmallowXpie · 05-20-2016, 03:36 AM

Clara tried to shift her gaze as a very peculiar thing happened in the classroom. I mean, people tripped and fell over all the time and she had hardly noticed it. It was probably because she thought all authority figures always carried themselves with a bit of grace. Nonetheless, Clara mostly just experienced some secondhand embarrassment for the professor as he became very well acquainted with the floor. She eyed the man warily and assumed that he was okay.

Shaking her head, she tried to get her mind back on to the actual topic. What was he talking about again? Oh yes, gravity. Hm. It was becoming increasingly difficult to not simply agree with all the other students, but the fact of the matter is...they weren't exactly wrong. "The reason that penguins in Antarctica don't get pulled down is because gravity doesn't actually work that way. Gravity pulls you "down", but "down" varies depending on where you are. For all on Earth, "down" is the center of the Earth, and therefore the penguins get pulled into the Earth instead. Not literally, of course. I mean, humans technically get pulled into the Earth as well. We just don't notice it on a day-to-day basis. It's not really something that you can feel."

griffin · 05-20-2016, 06:30 AM

Flamsteed looked like he was dying. Was it her question about the baby? Considering how private he liked to keep things, it probably was. Professor Flamsteed had ignored the question, but Burbage was there to share the details. Professor Flamsteed had a baby girl! Cue excited squealing. What was her name? Was she named after an astronomy thing? Maybe named for a constellation or a planet? So many questions. Babies were adorable.

Professor down. Had he meant to do that? Penguins! Now to explain why penguins didn't just fall of the Earth. "Earth is a sphere. Gravity is always pulling us towards the center of the Earth. What is 'up' and what is 'down' is relative and entirely based off your perspective. We may think that Antarctica is upside down, but because of gravity pulling towards the center of the Earth everything is actually the 'right way up' to the penguins. From the perspective of the penguins the ground is down, but this is different than what we think of as down."

Stefan · 05-20-2016, 08:14 AM

Jace mirrored the professor’s expression as he stared back at the ghost...and the pasty man behind it. He wondered if it was actually necessary for them to know his personal stuff. Well, it was good to know that he dedicated something permanent and personal to his daughter, but...that isn’t as interesting as learning Astronomy stuff, right? If it was a Muggle Studies class, then he’s all up for Airey taking his shirt off...for educational purposes, of course.

Jace closed his mouth as Airey moved along with the discussion. The Ravenclaw immediately took his journal and quill and started to write the gist of what he was saying in Japanese. The writing however, stopped, when a loud thud was heard.

Jace took a peek, and cringed when he saw the professor on the ground, trying to get words out of his mouth. “It’s because gravity pulls us in towards the center of the Earth, and not...to slide down, and off, the surface of the earth.” He said with his hand raised above his head. Seeing Hady help the Hufflepuff kid, Jace followed suit, got up from his seat and offered his hands to help the professor stand up. That’s what trained Kenshins do, all thanks to the teaching of one Sensei Ryunosuke Hollingberry.

Hera · 05-20-2016, 08:22 AM

Did he need to see a Healer? "Nope." Simple as that. "An apple a day keeps the Healer away, Professor," he grinned. And HUZZAAHHHH, apple. It was pretty good, like, apples were great. And he wasn't here to LEARN anything - other than the fact that the man had a tattoo and a kid and whatever. Like. HA! Losing the three points had been worth it so far.

Ilia's staring wasn't overlooked, he had a way of knowing when he was being admired, and she was welcome to it. Flashing a grin her way, Zeke winked at her before rousing up some Flammer-be-topless support.

Who in their right mind DIDN'T want to see this supposed tattoo? Hmm? It was ludicrous.

But alas... while he had support (thank you folks), the Professor's gibberish was... a no?

And...

Put. The. Apple. Down?

....

Mmmmm... no. He just sat until the man was otherwise distracted by other answers before resuming eating. Making craters was an Astro thing, and he was SUPER good at that too.

Waddles · 05-20-2016, 04:00 PM

Isabella's eyes widened as the professor bickered a bit with the ghost and then suddenly tripped or something and then landed on the floor. As she had previously been leaning back in her seat, she couldn't see over the edge of her desk to the floor apple that had caused Flamsteed's tumble. Now, however, she was sitting up quite straight, leaning forward even to peer over her desk in worry at the Professor. Was he okay? As another student helped him up, she bit her lip with concern. She couldn't even process that another question had been asked, she was too busy being concerned for the man's safety. Also, his sanity. This class had become quite strange.

Callie · 05-20-2016, 05:26 PM

Aaaaaaand Airey was down. Again. Hadley Denaker just watched blankly. She wasn't even surprised. And no. She wasn't going to perform All Star in front of the class in hopes of reviving him again.

Why was the Head Lion such a drama queen?

Pulled down? Hadley was 99.99999999999999% with a bar on top sure that she hadn't said anything about gravity pulling down. She supposed she could just reiterate her answer of how gravity is generated by the mass of an object and pulls things toward the center of mass. Thus on Earth, we were pulled toward the Earth's core, which no matter where on Earth you were, was beneath you. And the Moon was being pulled toward the Earth's core too. It was just moving so fast, that to paraphrase Douglas Adams, it kept missing the ground. Like wise the Earth was in constant freefall around the Sun's core. And the Sun around the Galaxy's core.

Gravity.

Doesn't pull down. Pulls to the center.

She could have said all that. But Airey clearly wasn't in a state to hear her, just like he wasn't the first time she answered.

Hadley just wanted to eat her apple.

StarShine · 05-20-2016, 07:25 PM

Airey Flamsteed had a tattoo AND a baby.

And the whole Scotland heard about this, because there was a LOUD ghost at the classroom.

Katherine gaped at the... woman figure floating in front of them with 1. shock of her sudden appearance, 2. discomfort at the loud voice, 3. WHAT at the news about Airey Flamsteed. Well, they weren't quite news anymore for the man and his close friends, she supposed, but... Katherine didn't know what to think of this lesson as she tried to listen to the ghost (Marrion Burbage, of course she knew about her because she HAD read the Hogwarts, A History) and note down some stuff she was saying. Like... like... but she didn't really say anything Katherine hadn't already known. Or did she feel so merely because she was SHOUTING and talking so much that the Ravenclaw couldn't keep up?

Well, whatever the reason, the only time Katherine picked up her quill was to write down the meaning of gravity.

Quote:

Gravity: The force that pulls objects towards each other, especially powerful on space components (stars, black holes, planets etc.).

Gravity: Seriousness of something.

There, now hopefully Professor Flamsteed would speak at a normal tone.

Except, after a little bit of explanation (thankfully, which was noted down), he fell.

Katherine didn't see why, but she could tell it was a terrible fall - or so it looked, and she rushed to her feet out of genuine concern for him.

"Sir, are you okay?" she asked as she awkwardly offered him her hand. Forget about the question that was answered correctly by pretty much everyone else, he had to live for his baby!

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