Professor Alexander O' Rourke
January 24, 2013 11:03 PM
Advanced Astronomy (6th and 7th years) by Professor Alexander O' Rourke
here was a lot going on at Sonora this term, and there was definitely a buzz around the castle about it. Alex had his work cut out for him as well, having agreed to host one of the many challenges in store for the students this year. His part in everything wouldn't come for a few months, but it still managed to take up a fair bit of his free time. He felt like he'd been stuffed in his office for days, so he came up with a new lesson plan.The advanced class was a curious one. Half of them were coming off of their C.A.T.S, and the others would face their R.A.T.S later this term. That, coupled with the mystery challenges and many of the older students finding themselves in leadership roles whether they liked it or not, could make for a rather stressful year. O' Rourke wanted to give them a break from the classroom, and there happened to be a meteor shower occurring that night.
Alex posted a note on the astronomy classroom door about class being relocated to the gardens that night, and gathered up what he needed before setting off outside.
****
Alex lit the path from the entrance of the labyrinth gardens to where his class would meet. It was a bit of a walk, but he needed to get far enough away from the castle so that the lights wouldn't interfere with the stars. The autumn night was clear and crisp, and the desert sky, miles from city lights, was the perfect canvas for the meteor shower.
Professor O' Rourke set up telescopes for the assignment portion of the lesson regarding start charts, and waited until the students were all there to take attendance.
"Good evening, and thank you all for coming all the way out here with me tonight. As you can see, we have telescopes set up out here. The first part of class will be about star charts, and the second, for those who aren't avid start gazers, will be a bit of a surprise.
"Stars are so far away that their relationship to our planet remains the same. The sky changes as we orbit the sun, but the same groups of stars present themselves around the same time each year. They maintain their relative distance from eachother as well. As far as we can tell at any rate.
Constellations are groupings of stars, and are basically to help you remember how to find other stars. For example, if you spot three bright stars in a row on a winter evening, you may recognize it as Orion's belt. Then you'll recognize the rest of the constellation. Betelgeuse is Orion's left shoulder and Rigel is his foot. And once you recognize Orion, you can remember that Orion's Hunting Dogs, Canis major and minor are always nearby, and then you can find other stars from there.
"Your assignment is to choose a constellation, and find it using the telescope. I'll be around to check them for accuracy. You have..." Alex paused to check the antique pocket watch he kept on him "45 minutes to complete the task. After that, I invite you all to sit back, relax, and enjoy the meteor shower we're to have this evening. Get to work." He said with a smile before crossing his arms and letting his gaze wander upwards into the heavens.
((OOC: You know the rules, you can say that O'Rourke checked your position, for better or worse. If you'd like to write it out, feel free to tag him. After you finish, enjoy the show. Have fun.))
Subthreads: Ooooh, a show! How nice. by Regina Parker, Teppenpaw
0
Professor Alexander O' Rourke
Advanced Astronomy (6th and 7th years)
0
Professor Alexander O' Rourke
1
5
Regina Parker, Teppenpaw
January 28, 2013 8:06 PM
Ooooh, a show! How nice. by Regina Parker, Teppenpaw
Reggie was surprised to find the notice on the door that their class would be held that evening. She wished she had known yesterday because then she would have slept in a bit instead of getting up extra early to make herself look nice. She knew even when she had been getting ready that it was stupid of her to waste her time. He was seriously old and it would mean he was a creep if he showed any interest, but Reggie couldn’t help herself. She curled her hair, did her make up, found a nice dress that went well with her look. She really just wanted to see if he saw her. Or really, anyone. But him especially. Well, that wasn’t true. She wanted some other boys to notice too, but they were boys and he was a man. For some reason, that made a difference.She frowned at the sign but considered this now two hours free to do whatever she wanted until her Defense class was called. She could just make herself up again come time for the Astronomy lesson to start. Besides, it would be nice to have a lesson outside again. Now that Care of Magical Creatures was no longer in the gardens, but in a classroom, Reggie missed the fresh air they would get daily from it. During her breaks from classes, Reggie liked to come outside to sit and relax just because it wasn’t in her day to day classes. And this lesson was the first one she had at night since her first CoMC lesson ever that dealt with Moon Calves. This was kind of fun.
Reggie made it to the location and found telescopes and Professor O’Rouke waiting for them. She found a telescope and then listened with respect as he began the lesson. When Reggie went to Canada over the summer, she had spent some of the time learning the different parts of Divinations. One of those parts was the placement of the stars and planets. Also known as Astrology. Not really the same as Astronomy, but she did learn quite a bit about stars. One of her favorite Greek Mythologies was about Andromeda. The poor girl had to suffer because of her mother’s callousness. But, at the last second, she was rescued by Perseus and his great white horse, Pegasus. Reggie always enjoyed such fairytales of a girl being rescued by a man on a stallion…
Looking into her telescope, Reggie located Andromeda. It was entirely difficult to see without a telescope as it was one of the farthest constellations, but not impossible. Reggie found it easily enough and then took a step back so that the Professor could verify it for her, smiling happily as he stood close by. Once that was all set, Reggie took a seat on the ground and waited for the Meteor shower that he had promised them. It had been a long time since she had camped out under the stars with her dad, so these things were still so exciting for her. Although, her hazel eyes did occasionally wander to other objects that entertained her while she waited.
6
Regina Parker, Teppenpaw
Ooooh, a show! How nice.
187
Regina Parker, Teppenpaw
0
5