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  Romanian Longhorn
Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: The Paths
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Hogwarts RPG Name:
Anna Walles
Hufflepuff Sixth Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Sage Ransom-Kruus
Slytherin Sixth Year
Ministry RPG Name:
Charles Hollingberry
Minister's Office
Ministry RPG Name:
Airey Flamsteed
Mysteries
Diagon Alley Employee:
Zachaël Lufkin
Owl Post
  x12  x12
|  the grey text is happening over the course of Professor Flamsteed speaking <3 astronomizzle ♧ gryffinDORK | & the rest is drag ♣ #badluckDerf
As you sit waiting patiently - or not so patiently - for your turn to speak, the debris over head continues to float around and seemingly orbit the large sphere. However, if you pauy attention carefully - which is understood may be difficult considering you are trying to multitask by paying attention to your classmates and the professor - you will notice that some of the debris begins to move closer to one another and….hmmmmmm...begins to coalesce?
Have no fear if these changes would have changed your answer just now. The movement is subtle enough not to notice right away and having to pay attention to so many things at once, well, you were bound to accidentally over look something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saz Hale  Abby fixed her name plate to the front of her desk and thought and raised her hand and said "It could be like how the universe started" Abby wasn't sure but it was worth trying her hand "Not quite, Miss Valentine," he said with a shake of the head. Not quite was being generous really, but there it was.
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Originally Posted by Hera ...
Hand up, he supplied, "Professor, was that like one of them asteroid-metior-shower-collision-things? Like the ones that killed the dinosaurs?" Or... did the dinosaurs die for some other reasons. IN FACT!... were dinosaurs and dragons related? DID DINOSAURS STILL KINDA EXIST?! OR... DID THEY LEGIT EXIST?! He felt as though this was an epiphany moment. Not correct, but not entirely wrong either. Although quite far from the answer he was looking for. "An excellent train of thought, Mr. Zeke. But what you just witnessed was a small scale model of an astronomical phenomena with 100 million times the amount of energy than the event believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs."
Just some food for thought.
It was no mere asteroid!
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 ....
Adi straightened up. "Yo, Philipe. You can sit back up now.'' It was just Professor Suits and his funny antics LOL. But what was that all about that just happened? The sixth year raised his hand. "A Professor trying to give his students a heart attack on their very first Astronomy class?'' he suggested. The professor chuckled. "If that was enough to give you all a heart attack, then we all do really need to work on our constant vigilance!"
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Originally Posted by Harry174 Angel put her name tag right where the Professor could see it, she then raised her hand and smiled as she thought about what the Professor was on about. "Professor is it a comet breaking up on impact with the earths atmosphere?" Angel wasn't sure if it was right but that happened right. "A very good guess, Miss Valentine," he nodded. "Especially considering the fragility of a comet's core....but not the answer I am looking for."
Quote:
Originally Posted by nanyjj ....
Leah raised her left hand while she straightened her name plaque with her right. When she was called upon, she said, "That was a little sphere crashing into a big one." He asked what it WAS. And she was a literal person. Snorting, the professor simply nodded his head at the Hufflepuff....while trying not to erupt into a fit of manly giggles at her literal interpretation of the question.
Had been his own fault that his question had not been specific enough for her to, er, grasp.
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Originally Posted by fanficfanatict ....
Once that was settled threw up his hand. "You were just trying to remind is about the futility of fear because for all intensive purposes existence is a construct." AMIRIGHT? Right? Hehehehehe.
Oh life. And then there was this response. Talk about perspective whiplash.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh...." Airey said, his eyes widening and lips pursing as he tried to figure out how best to respond to....that. "No? Let's go with no."
Quote:
Originally Posted by kayquilz ...
SHE ALMOST FELL OUT OF HER CHAIR.
WHAT EVEN, FLAMMY.
The Irish girl probably mumbled something....under her breath, but when she realized it was just Professor Flamsteed employing his usual shenanigans, she took a deep breath. Okay.
And no, Eden had no idea what it was. But she raised her hand anyways. "Things going...BOOM." Yep. Eden McGee was brilliant. This was a brilliant answer.
The Ravenclaw actually literally and completely HATED that Astronomy didn't come naturally to her... >.> Surveying the semi circle of desks, his blue eyes fell on the Ravenclaw and....he just sort of nodded.
"FUN FACT!" he said, pointing at Miss McGee right between the eyes. "In order for there to be a proper BOOM, meaning sound, there must be molecules to vibrate. HOWEVER, in the large empty areas between stars and planets, there are no molecules to vibrate and thus no sound."
Which probably had very little to do with what she had actually said, but he just had to share.
"Also, Miss McGee, stellar article in the Quill. Pebbles, Boulder, and myself thoroughly enjoyed it."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline ...
The sixth year eased his way back up to his seat, raising his hand at the question. "Um....it was how the craters on the moon were formed." Seemed as good an idea on what the demonstration represented as any. Airey nodded his head. "Another fantastic and well thought out guess, Mr. Atreyu, but not the one I am looking for."
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Originally Posted by SpiritWolfe Malfoy ...
"Um it looks like comets colliding Professor." She answered while raising her free hand into the air. "Elvis just wants to be sure that those bits of rock that rained down on us weren't his family at all." That would be really sad if they were. "No, no comets," he replied, shaking his head. "Tell Elvis to rest easy. Not even his second cousins once removed."
It wasn't even proper rock to begin with.
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Originally Posted by Lottiepot ...
As for the question? Layla could’ve said a million answers as to what she was really thinking. “Are you trying to make a big impression on our new students Professor?” she asked although she knew that it was not the right answer. She didn’t care what the real answer was.
She was NOT in the mood. Not. In. The. Mood.
*Frown*. The professor tapped his chin with his index finger. "No....but if anyone was feeling a bit drowsy I certainly hope it woke them up." First day back in classes and everything...AND after lunch.
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Originally Posted by AmbiguouslyMe ...
Brushing them from his hair, Thornton considered what seemed to be the collision, as others had said, of an asteroid with a planetary body. But he was more focused on the ring that now circled the sphere, trying to puzzle through Flamsteed's purpose. Airey's eyes fell on Mr. Baines and gave him a small approving nod. Attentive listening was always appreciated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Govoni ...
...and due to the excitement, Gabe had missed previously offered answers. Save for Hugh's. Unfortunate, as he liked to copy those down for reference. So, carefully getting back in his seat, and smiling just a little at Hugh, he raised his hand. "You're trying to demonstrate how these sorts of collisions, the ones between planets and other astronomical objects, behave after the fact?...which heavily depends on how strong the individual planet's gravitation pull is."
He was reminded of Saturn...and Jupiter, actually. Jupiter was the only planet to top Earth in that sense.
........Was it safe to start note-taking?....Or was there going to be an encore? "Veeeeeeeeeeeery close, Mr. Banner! And certainly on the right track," he nodded, giving the prefect a VERY enthusiastic salute. "But yes, that is the general gist of things."
The very general gist on a grand scale.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicole black ...
Oh right. Sphere, what did it mean? What did any of it mean, really? What was the point of existence and life? "That everything and anything is inevitable including the collision of one heavenly bother with another?" It wasn't completely wrong, just not exactly right, ether.
He was in an existential mood, okay? It was what happened when you lost your girl and your soul. Bother? Perhaps Mr. Anderson could use a bit more rest. Although he did guess what it was the Gryffindor had meant to say.
"That is a small part of things, yes."
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhoenixRising ...
"Perhaps it was related to the celestial forces in the sky tonight? Or a demonstration of what happens when two asteroids collide?" She suggested, lowering her hand. Ah, if only there was some fantastical collision happening somewhere in the sky tonight that he could have assigned for homework...However, if there HAD been one at night, well, he would have held the lesson at that hour. As it was, he did not want to send students to the Hospital Wing for catching a cold after getting wet at night.
Oops. Had he thought too much?
"No quite, Miss Mancini. But thank you for your guess."
Quote:
Originally Posted by PuppySara ...
So Philipe just stayed quiet for his question, not wanting to answer, or really knowing, why Flamsteed thought that it was a good way to start class. Another attentive listener. Airey gave the young Hufflepuff an encouraging nod before looking around the semi circle for the next raised hand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Symphora Huh? Duck and cover?! Before he could even comprehend what was actually happening, a blast of flying 'rocks' came crashing down into their classroom and Henric being one of the few who didn't quite react as fast as his fellow classmates was pretty much hit squarely in the face. It didn't hurt or anything, thank goodness...It took him a moment to realise what just happened. And when he did, he muttered in astonishment,"What in the blazing cauldron was that?!"
There were still remnants of the flying pieces attached to his hair and Henric couldn't help frown even more that his hair was ruined because of it. Great..he would need to fix it later. Oh and yes...his eccentric professor making his grand entrance yet again. Henric thought he might want to show the class of how planets were made. You know, the gravitional pull of all the comets combined to form a symmetrical sphere of life greatest existence. My oh my...Henric...thought you weren't interested at all but apparently you do.
"That IS the question of the moment now, isn't it?" the astronomer mused while offering the young man a wink.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Buggy-Boo ...
So slowly peeking over her desk to make sure the worst of it was over, Margo stood up, brushed off her cloths and returned to her seat. Whew......okay now knowing it didn't hurt maybe it was a pretty cool way to start the day. "It's that like the Big Bang Theory." Margo added trying to remember all of her random facts. "Isn't that how the solar system was created?" Margo hoped she was right. "The Big Bang Theory is indeed the standing theory of how the universe was created," he nodded. But now was the chance for some of the older students, perhaps those set to take their NEWTs this term, hmmm?, to try their hand at teaching a classmate. "But the Big Bang wasn't really a bang at all. Does anyone recall what a more accurate term would be?"
Anyone?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daydreamer11 ...
Janelle wasn't sure, but she would try to answer the question. She raised her hand and gave it a go. "The little UFO seemed like a meteor crashing into a planet. The meteor was destroyed, but it didn't destroy the planet. It just changed it a little bit." Well that was kind of stating the obvious. What did it all mean though? That, was the $64,000 question. Pushing images of little green men far from his head - like the ones seen in low budget muggle science fiction films - he both nodded his head and shook it at the Ravenclaw. "Yes...and no...but changed it how, exactly?" If only she had said more.
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Originally Posted by JustAlice ...
WOW!
MAGIC WAS SO AWESOME!
"Professor how did you DO THAT?" she asked, her eyes wide with amazement and a huge grin on her face. She poked some of the debris that had flown off the... things... "What's it made of? It's all squishy! Are planets made out of this? I thought they'd be hard." Cause other people were saying planets right, so maybe that's what it was? He had expected enthusiasm from this Gryffindor...but not on THIS topic. Ah yes, the nature of Gryffindor-esque distraction.
"A bit off topic for the current discussion, I'm afraid," he chuckled, tapping his knuckles twice on her desk. "I'll be happy to explain things to you once the lesson is over."
The man was already easily distraction and brought off topic by ... things...as it was.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SweetPeea She didn't know WHAT happened, but that loud crash practically scared her out of her seat. The moment the debris started going everywhere her head was already covered with a book to prevent being hurt by the debris, which thankfully worked. The fifth year was so freaked out by what had happened, she hadn't even heard what Professor Airey had asked the class.
......Was Ethan alright? Oops. Too much?
"You alright there, Miss Edayson?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Becky ...
After a moment of deliberation, James finally spoke and said "Was that an enactment of a future apocalyptic event?" Oh, he knew big words for an 11 year old. MHMMM. He shook his head. "This is a reenactment of something theorized to have happened in the Earth's past."
No more future end of the world talk for today. They had done that a previous term and, well, Airey didn't really want to have Seers and their faulty predictions mentioned in his classroom.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiro MacMhuirich ...
When she got over the dizziness, she looked behind her at her very own Head of House! Wasn't he SO cool? "IS it demonstrating the left over effects of your actions?" The Welsh first year asked looking back at the things in the ... air. "'Cause it looks like they are still angry." Well.... it was worth a guess. The left over....huh? Her answer was almost as puzzling as the Slytherin's, and thus earned the same sort of response.
"Good...er...try....but I'm going to go with a no on this one..." he said, forcing an encouraging smile on his lips. She WAS a first year, after all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArianaBlack ...
Eh. Zander would sit out on this one. There were tons of eager firsties, maybe it'd be good to let them have a shot, y'know? Get all there eagerness out. Zander's guess would've had something to do with meteors maybe. 'Cause meteors always sounded relevant.
Mr. Adair received a polite nod of the head as well. Again, attentive listening. It was fantastic. Or perhaps he would like to try his hand at answering the question he posed in response to Miss Holiday?
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Originally Posted by GoldenSnake ....
"Was that a demonstration of how the asteroid belt was formed, professor?" Natalia saw some basis of evidence. "The large sphere was Jupiter with a large gravitational field, pulling the smaller 'planet' to its orbit. The smaller one eventually collides with the bigger." The Lion might sound like she knew what she was talking about, but Nat wasn't certain if that was what the professor intended to demonstrate. "The collision broke the smaller planet into different pieces, which started orbiting around Jupiter." Nat thought she should conclude her answer. "Then tada! Asteroid belt." *BEAMS* Should she dance? Airey was quite impressed and even paused for a moment to give the young woman a polite golf clap. "That is a very well thought out theory, Miss Woolf. HOWEVER, that is not how the asteroid belt was formed according to astronomers. While Jupiter DID play a role, its role was not one in which it caused one planet to collide with another, but that it's gravitational force prevented all the bits of dust and rock from coalescing into another planet. A planet that, had it been able to form, would have been possibly been able to form a planet nearly four times the size of the Earth."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squishy ...
"That was stellar, Professor!" she called out after the BIG BANG. The reason why Astronomy was one of her favourite classes was because he always made the lessons so much fun. Thinking about the question for a moment, she raised her hand. "Was that to show how asteroids were formed?" She didn't really know much about asteroids, but it was a good guess in her opinion! Look at that. His little catch phase was catching on. Heh.
"Good guess, but no. Asteroids, as we know them, are in fact leftovers from the formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roselyn ...
Having no answer for the Professor, he poked and fiddled at his plaque instead, making sure it was perfectly center on his desk and visible for all to see. Mr. McWitty received a polite nod of the head as well and a salute for a well placed name plaque - even though he already knew the young man's name.
Quote:
Originally Posted by feeheeheeny ...
Rather than answering the question, Sophie collected a handful of the debris and poked at it curiously on her desktop, taking notice of how squishy it was and not hard like a rock, the way she'd anticipated it would be. What kind of crazy cool magic was this anyway? How did he make all of that happen? Could he teach HER?
As always, when she was too distracted to be engaged in the discussion, her answer was, Whatever Tobes said. He was always right anyway. "You are more than welcome to keep those, if you wish," he chuckled as he passed by Miss Brown's desk. "Might make for an interesting potion ingredient."
Maybe. Or maybe not. But a little experimentation never hurt anyone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mordred ...
Brushing off the soft chunks of ‘rock’ from his head, Ethan got his things and nameplate and transferred seats beside Josie. Of course he didn’t miss her entrance. Hi, Josie! Placing his nameplate upside down on his desk, Ethan raised his hand to answer. “Probably one of the many theories on how Saturn got its ring?” Well, stating the obvious...obviously. Oooooooooh so close. But not entirely incorrect either. "A very good educated guess, Mr. Mordaunt," he applauded the Slytherin. Who, by the way, it was nice to see back. "While very true that Saturn's rings were formed from comets, asteroids, moons, and other space debris breaking up and colliding with one another due to the planet's very strong gravity...that is not the answer I am looking for."
Partly why he enjoyed such open ended questions and vague demonstrations. Students really got to LOOK at how similar and connected so many aspects of our universe were.
Including the very fact, his favorite about the universe, that each and every one of them was made from star stuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jessiqua ...
The seventh year was rubbish at Astronomy, though she did try to improve. So, not really understanding what had happened, she raised her hand anyway. After all, what was the harm in a wrong answer? "Professor, my mind says it's obviously some kind of demonstration of two space objects colliding. It could be the collision of a star between… a comet or something." It was hard for her not to answer that question with a question, but doing that would only be second guessing herself. Which she was doing but… a guess was just as good an answer as a paragraph straight from the textbook. Or so she believed. SO CLOSE. OH SO VERY CLOSE!
"You are on the right track, Miss Burton," he applauded the seventh year.
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Originally Posted by griffin ...
"Did that represent an asteroid colliding with a planet?" If that demonstration was any indication of what the class activity would be like, she was in for a very dangerous lesson, possibly the kind where she would get hurt. Why was it always her in Flamsteed's class?
He probably ought to qualify his response to all those who had mentioned asteroids before. So hopefully everyone was paying attention.
"Asteroids are at times referred to as minor planets, so in a sense...yes. It does...while at the same time...no, not really."
Vaaaaaaaaague.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saraie ...
She sat back up at the desk and listened to the professor. "Ummmm testing our reflexes?" Really, though. Duck and cover? "The universe, and how it was created?" Aka the big bang. The suited astronomer smirked. "Perhaps, and if I really was I must admit that some of you need to work a bit more on them."
Quote:
Originally Posted by LilFox06
What did that represent? Reasons not to get on the Professor's bad side obviously. What kind of teacher HURTLES giant dangerous rocks at each other with barely any warning?
A small nod was given to Mr. Phillips for his attentive listening. Thank you, young man.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grrr..Meow ...
Echo brushed her sleeve off and held up her hand "Professor was that to show us of like gravitational pull... and if a planet or moon gets pulled into another planet's gravitational pull it can crash?" she hoped that she didn't sound to silly and she really hoped that the Professor knew what she meant, because she wasn't fully sure she understood herself. He shook his head. "Afraid not." And that really was a can of worms he did not want to get into right now. Had a schedule to keep and all.
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Originally Posted by littledhampir ...
"Is it like two planets from space who slam into each other because one got in the way?" Was that a thing that happened? Hayden didn't really care. That's what it looked like had just happened so that's the answer she was sticking with. "YES!" he said, wth some dramatic pointing. He only wished she had shared a bit more. But YES.
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Originally Posted by VRSCIKA Her hand raised politely, but her mouth ran the show on this one. "Professor, Is that how baby pet rocks are made?" Ilia asked with a sweet, genuine looking smile. Yup, she enjoyed that answer, yes she did. Hopefully, he did too. Everyone else had a scientific theory or was complaining about a heart attack or some rot, her answer was every bit as legit. ....................................
....................................
....................................
The professor's ears turned an unnatural shade of red and he began tugging at his tie as his mind moved to........his impending future. Trying to keep himself from looking too terribly uncomfortable - and failing miserably - he rubbed his sweaty hands against his trousers and cleared his throat for several long and uncomfortable moments.
"Ahem...er...no...that's...no...moving on..." he muttered as he quickly moved on to the next raised hand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mell Once the show was over and the question was asked, Michael raised his hand. "Could be two stars colliding or perhaps an asteroid crashing." "Not quite, Mr. Toussaint. However, stellar collision is a fascinating study that we unfortunately do not have time to discuss today." So ... they would all really just have to take his word for it. Unless they turned to their textbooks that is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harron Peasley ...
Rolling his shoulders slightly, and twisting his pencil in his hand as he sat back down, the twelve year old just shrugged in answer to the first question. He didn't know what that was about, how could he? Wasn't that why he was here, to be TOLD stuff? To LEARN? The professor shrugged his shoulders in return. Shrug shrug shrug.
SPOILER!!: Noel, Norah, Yoongi...aka planet on planet theory! Quote:
Originally Posted by Samia ...
Noel listened to students suggesting it was comets colliding and maybe meteorite explosions and then there was Leah being literal. He snorted at that before adding his two cents in: " ... could that be planets colliding, sir?" Quote:
Originally Posted by Sararara ...
"Is it like that time we smashed those planets together? 'Cept only one of theses ones went kaboom..." It was a shame, really. The big one would have an awesomesauce kaboom. Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi ...
“Well, to give me a mild heart failure but that’s probably not the answer you’re looking for....Professor” He did not like unexpected things to happen that were loud. A few years ago he would have cried under the desk but he was older now so it was just shaking hands. “Maybe you wanted to show what happens when two planets collide?"
Please don't get frustrated with him for being a fifth year. He never had astronomy in Charms school...
It was the next set of raised hands that got the man the most excited and while many students had, in fact, alluded to this very same concept, it was their terminology that really was the distinguishing factor.
“YES!” he roared, finger thrust towards Mr. Wallace first. “Planets…” he began, leaping on to the boy’s desk and then jumping over towards Miss Kittredge’s in the next instance. “...colliding…” He then finished up his celebratory jumping on Mr. Hyland’s desk. “...with one another.”
He contemplated staying right where he was, on the Gryffindor’s desk, but thought the better of it and jumped off before continuing. “Two planets in particular, actually. The large sphere he represents the Earth whereas the smaller one is meant to represent an ancient planet called Theia. Now, the actual existence of this planet is purely hypothesized based on astronomical research and findings, but it is believed to have been a Mars-sized planet that....” He paused here to look at the debris. Right on time. He gave his sundial watch a proud tap with his index finger.
SPOILER!!: Benzi & Dot..aka MAKE A MOON kiddos Quote:
Originally Posted by fire_faerie ....
Could he be a smartypants? Because he totally knew this. At least, he was 95% sure he knew this. Eh, why not. "That looks like some sort of astronomical body hitting a planet sir, and the debris that didn't get enough energy from the blast got trapped in the gravitational pull and formed a ring around it. Kind of like the rings around the planets in our solar system. Perhaps they'll even form a moon," he said, his hand raised and looking expectantly at the professor. Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassirin In spite of the order to duck and cover, Dot wasn't interested in getting out of the line of fire. She wanted to be able to see everything, after all, and her decision paid off. EXPLOSIONS. PELTING STONE THINGS. It was all so so so exciting, and she got a first hand, front seat look.
Did she know what StarMan was trying to show them? Nope. Not in the least. Did she care?
Not at ALL. It was still exciting. "Maybe you're making us a moon, sir. I mean... eventually. They have to come from somewhere."
YES! YES YES YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!
Leaping and trying his best not to kick any and all inkwells and parchment off desks, Airey jumped first onto Miss Wojack’s desk, pointed at her excitedly between the eyes with a loud YES! and then proceeded todo the same on Mr. Rider’s. “Precisely! A moon! But just just ANY moon...OUR MOON!”
TAAAAAAAAAAADAAAAAAAAA! WELCOME TO THE STELLAR WORLD OF MOON FORMATION, HOGWARTIANS!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir ...
"Waaaas iiiiit... a demonstration about how big zoomy space things - that's the technical term for asteroids and meteors and all that, y'know - can affect a planet's... uhh... spinny-ness... rotation... revolution?" Revolution? VIVA LA PLUTO. "Like maybe they knock them off course, which changes, uh... stuff." Airey's favourite word, right? "Or maybe slows them down because of momentum reasons. Or totally changes the angle of the axis, like with Uranus." He pointed at the big... thing. The one that still existed and span above them. "'Cause that one's moving slower now." Yeah, that's what it looked like, and Toby trusted his senses right now just as he trusted everybody and everything.
Finally shutting up, Toby went back to fiddling with the weird squishy soft rock that had whapped him in the head earlier. So squish. Still highly excitable from the previous answers, it didn't take very much time for the professor to leap from the Ravenclaw's desk over to the one belonging to Mr. Tem....Mr. Toby.
Save for the word 'stuff', it as a very thoughtful response.
"You must be referring to the manner in which the large sphere seemed to slow its rotation after the initial impact of the smaller sphere, yes?" he rhetorically asked. "A very GOOD observation, inDEED! It is hypothesized that the Earth's day had been just two to three hours long at the time of Theia's impact. This high rotational speed would have been necessary for enough material to be thrown off our forming Earth into space to form the Moon. The impact therefore not only created our Moon, but also eventually produced the 24-hour day that we know and live."
FASCINATING STUFF, YEAH?!
Seeing no other raised hands, he decided to continue.
"This theory, which is the most widely accepted theory, of how the Moon was formed is called the the Giant Impactor Theory or the Giant Impact Hypothesis," he began. There were really several other names, but these were the two he would prefer students remember. "And to summarize without going into too many details, is a theory in which a Mars-sized planet, given the name Theia, collided with the Earth approximately 4.5 billion years ago and the debris from that impact is what formed our Moon. There is a lot of evidence supporting this theory, which was pulled to the forefront of astronomical research after humanity first landed on the Moon and was able to study it up close, but the theory is not without its holes. However, among the other standing theories it is the most plausible."
He really was trying not to lecture TOO much, but he was incredibly excited about this. Astronomy was, after all, his passion.
"Now, just to touch base on some of the other theories out there...another is the Capture Theory where the Earth, similar to how Mars captured its two moons - Phobos and Deimos - but it does not explain how our Moon is spherical and therefore highly unlikely. Another is one called the Fission Theory in which a piece of the Earth simply fell off turning its period of rapid spinning - supporters of this theory believe that to be the Pacific Ocean basin. But there is much evidence against this theory as well."
And there were others, but he would not to overload them with information at the moment. They still had a lot of ground to cover.
"It just goes to show you that some of the universe's greatest mysteries are not that far away at all," he manly giggled as he looked up at the now complete replica of the Earth and its moon floating above the class. "One of your assignments for homework will be to read more on these and other formation theories, so let's move on in our discussion for now. Unless there are any questions?"
Which they were free to ask at any time.
"Now, the Moon may be something that we here on Earth take for granted. We look up, it's visible. Sometimes its not when its a New Moon. It's romanticized and the source of much mythology...but just WHY is the Moon important? Furthermore, do you think the Earth would be fine without its existence?"
And hand raising starting.....NOW!
OOC: you all rock my socks! <3 Same as before, just assume that Professor Flamsteed has called on your student to speak. All answers, right or wrong, are accepted and appreciated 
Class will resume in approximately 24 hours from the time of this post.
Any questions may be directed to myself OOC via VM or PM or IC to Professor Flamsteed.
__________________
When you’re stuck in a moment and your spark has been stolen .................................................. ...........
this is our time to own it, so own it.....................................
baby we were born with fire and gold in our eyes |