Stars! Charlie was liking Astronomy, cos she actually knew a thing or two about them (more than any other subject, at the very least) and could confidently -- more confidently, at least -- answer questions.

So, stars. What did she know about them? She thought about this for a second -- just to formulate a solid answer -- and then raised her hand high. "Well, professor, the sun is a star, and I'm pretty sure it's the closest one to us, too, or just really really big. The other stars make cool pictures called constellations, like the big and little dippers."

She could get used to this knowing-what-to-say thing.

Oh Mark knew something really cool about Stars! He learned about it from an Old Muggle Song!! Or well he learned about it from an old Muggle song and then was told that song was wrong and it was different from Different song that corrected the first one. "Stars aren't simply made out of gas," Mark chirped up.
"They're called Gaseous Giants, but really they're made out of plasma! It's like a weird gas that's not really gas but it is." Uh he was going off a bit here. "It's complicated Science." Mark just finished. Figuring he didn't want to confuse himself or anyone else. He was going to need to listen to that song again.

Kalen smiled at all the answers, he was really pleased with them and their knowledge, even the ones who didn’t fully know much. They were trying, and that’s all that mattered.

“All of your answers were very good, and I appreciate your communication. Even if you didn’t know much about Stars, you do now. ” He said with a soft laugh as he looked around.

“A few of you mentioned that we have a star close to us, and that is of course the Sun, which is why this lesson is taking place outside, in the afternoon and why we aren’t up in the Astronomy Tower at Midnight making star charts.” He grinned as he looked at them.

“Now I could launch into a lengthy lecture about the sun, and bore most of you to tears, but I’m not going to do that.

Today at least.

We will be studying the sun for the next few months as there is too much to learn for one lesson, so be sure to read up on the sun in your books for future lessons.

Today however. ” He paused as he looked at them. “We are going to be looking at the practical uses of the sun. So tell me, How is the sun useful to us in our world, you can tell me modern uses, or old time uses, but how we we make use of this star we call the Sun? ” He asked with a smile.

OOC: Thank you guys so much for your participation! We, Kalen and I really appreciate it! The question for this part of the lesson is “How is the sun useful to us.” Thanks! You will have 36 hours ish To answer this before we move on.

"Some people capture the light and heat it produces with different technologies and use that to light, heat and/or cool their homes, or produce electricity; when a single family does it just for their own use it's known as 'going off the grid'. It's supposedly supposed to save money...." Archer had her doubts, though. I mean, wouldn't you just end up pouring those savings back into maintaining the equipment, which was expensive in the first place? And heaven forbid you lived somewhere there was a lot of hail, high winds or tornados. You'd be replacing those suckers after every storm, practically! A thought that made her give a small chuckle.

Tessa couldn't possibly answer the first question in full because she knew a LOT about space, okay? And that wasn't supposed to sound boastful. Her knowledge wasn't complete buuuuut it was heavily informed by her boyfriend's, Alfie, who LOVED the stars and space and stuff. She would give one big, nice, interesting fact. Raising her hand, and sort of echoing/adding on from the answer the first year, Charlie, gave, she said, "Most of the stars that we can see at night, except, like, a few really faint ones, are actually BIGGER and BRIGHTER than Sun. The Sun only seems bigger and brighter because it's closer to us."

Quote:

Originally Posted by MunchyBubbles

"Today however." He paused as he looked at them. “We are going to be looking at the practical uses of the sun. So tell me, How is the sun useful to us in our world, you can tell me modern uses, or old time uses, but how we we make use of this star we call the Sun? ” He asked with a smile.

So they were going to be studying the sun?

Oooooh, cool, that meant her sun and stars fact had related quite nicely to the lesson's topic.

ANYWAY. Yeah, how was the Sun useful? Maybe it was one of the more obvious answers but Tessa was going to give it anyway. "The sun can be used to tell the time. I think Hogwarts actually has a sundial somewhere, right? They designed to cast shadows that will, uh, line up with a certain time."

Tina had just finished digging in her bag for her textbook, quill, and notebook when a Hufflepuff girl (Daisy) sat near her. She didn't really know her yet, but she seemed like a nice person so far... definitely nicer than those idiots behind the polyjuice prank in charms class! Seriously, what had that accomplished besides trouble, lots and lots of trouble? Tina nodded politely to acknowledge the other girl, but class started before she had time to say hello. Oh well, she was shy about initiating conversations anyway...

Tina listened intently to Professor Kennedy, half-expecting the man to explain the unusual setting for the lesson, but that didn't happen yet; he said he'd get to that later. Why couldn't he tell them now and be done with it? Tina wasn't sure whether to be intrigued or slightly annoyed. She hated not knowing! Unanswered questions led to uncertainty; uncertainty led to upheaval, and so on... Kennedy's question had her even more curious. So, something to do with stars at a time when they couldn't see any stars? Tina thought. What could that be?

The dark-haired Ravenclaw was half listening to her classmates' answers, half thinking up her own. She didn't want to repeat what had already said; it was unnecessary and, in her opinion, showed a lack of effort. Her mind filtered through her knowledge of stars until... her hand went up. "Most stars are red dwarfs," Tina said when called on. "Red dwarfs are less than half the mass of the sun and burn with 1/10,000 the energy." Oops, that was technically more than one fact, wasn't it?

Tina felt a little stupid when she heard the subject of the lesson. The sun, of course! It was so obvious... or at least it should've been if she didn't get so caught up overthinking it! Okay, this could be interesting. And Kennedy said they were going to be studying the sun for months. Did that mean they were going to have more outdoor daytime classes? Tina was so up for that!

Practical uses for the sun? Tina thought for a minute, but both of the answers she came up with off the top of her head were taken. Now she really had to think harder. Ooh, she had something! Her hand went up and she said, "In some parts of the world, people use sunlight to treat drinking water. They fill plastic bottles and leave them in the sun for at least six hours; the process is supposed to kill bacteria..." Though personally, Tina doubted it.

This was awesome! Astronomy was pretty much a muggle subject as it was all questions and no magic needed. He hoped there would be a practical element too of course for he wasn’t sure he could pay attention for a whole lesson of questions and answers and writing notes. But as for the questions they weren’t that complicated and Caolan was able to answer them without thinking too hard.

The fifth-year enjoyed science at school and biology was one of his best subjects. It took very little effort to search his memory for an answer that hasn’t been mentioned before. He raised his hand like he did the first question, politeness and all.

“The basis of life itself comes from the sun. Without the sun, plants wouldn’t be able to photosynthesise. We’d have no oxygen to breathe, no food sources to grow, little materials to build with..” I mean it was pretty obvious that humans needed plants for practically everything. These magical kids knew what photosynthesis was too, right? He continued just in case.. “Sunlight is used for energy- it’s converted into chemical energy to help the process along.” That will do.

He lowered his hand and slumped back in his chair as he waited for everyone else to answer.

So, the Sun. As soon as Kennedy mentioned that that was what they would be studying for the next while, Abra instinctively looked towards it. And then quickly looked away from it again because ouch.

Uhhhh, what? OH. Right. Yes. The Sun. Practical uses. Right.

Abra raised his hand. "This is both modern and old, I think, but people use the Sun for Divination. It's called Heliomancy and you look at the sun's rays and the shapes they make, and also shadows and omens and stuff like that."

Listen, Abra BELIEEEEEVED in Divination, fully and totally, so it was only natural that his brain should stray to an answer like that. Actually, it was sort of the easy option actually, because there was a kind of divination for practically everything, so naturally there would be one for the Sun. It just helped that he already knew what it was.

Mary knew her her facts. The sun was a star and they couldn't survive without it. She also remembered that muggles used it for energy with solar panels. Some had mentioned time as well.

"The sun gives life itself, as plants can't grow without it, herbivores can't live without plants, and carnivores can't
live without herbivores. In the muggle world they use it to generate electricity with solar panels. The sun also appears to rise and fall when at different times throughout the year, so ancient people made the first calendar based on the sun and were able to tell when to harvest crops based on the sun."

Malachi tilts his head as he thinks of everything he’s learned about the sun. "It gives us heat and light to grow crops, it a basic life line because without the sun there’d be no plants, no plants mean no air which means death. It also can tell time."

Uses of the sun?

Kaira raised her hand as she answered. 'Sunlight is a renewable form of energy and is used for generating electricity as it is non polluting and does not get exhausted.It can be used to treat water to remove contamination. We use it to grow crops and for basic survival cos it is the ultimate source of hear that powrrs the planet and without sun we would not have light. Or progress. Life, altogether,' she said.

......... Oh.

Max, who had raised his arm to have a go at the question, quickly lowered it again. Why? Because Tessa had totally just gone and stolen his sundial answer. He knew more about the moon than he did the sun. To be honest, he didn't really even see the sun all that much. He preferred to stay inside during the summer because sun burn was a big problem.

And that's when another answer hit him.

How people make use of this star we call the sun?

"Professor," he started, raising his arm in the air once more. "Some people use it to try and catch a tan."

Thie particular blonde was swaying slightly (class at his hour was never a good idea for a Faith Chosen, who would sleep until noon if people allowed her the opportunity) until finally, a question that Faith could answer! Her entire disposition brightened, and her back straightened as she raised her hand.

"The sun keeps me toasty and warm and lets me wear sundresses. I can't do that anymore, though, because winter's coming and it's too cold for that," she said, happy to be talking about her sundresses and how much she preferred them over the boring uniform and the boring winter clothes that kept them warm. "Oh, and it also dries clothes and makes the flowers bloom and sometimes the sun is so hot people fry eggs with their cars."

Though that didn't make much sense to Faith. But few things in the world made sense anyway so it wasn't really a problem.

The sun. This lesson's time and venue made a lot more sense now. Drewett continued to quietly scribble down tiny notes on his parchment as the professor and his classmates continued to speak. And yes, he'd already given his assigned readings a head start since their first day of classes. The fourth year liked to keep himself busy.

So many facts about the sun crossed Drewett's mind. Whether it be about botany or astrology or even divination, all of the things were basically written in their textbook. He liked to be well-rounded on things, even with topics they never really learned here in Hogwarts. Honestly, they could get something out of a few Muggle lessons here and there. Drewett was particularly biased when it came to science and mathematics. "Vitamin D, p-professor..." he shared after raising his hand.

And aaaah, photosynthesis. Drewett quite liked that lesson even if his typist did not.

Vita loved the sun. She loved its warmth. She loved the way it shed light on everything around her. She loved how it made her feel...

Hey, that could be a use.

"Spending time in the sun always cheers me up, professor."

Although Holly loved the excuse to stay up late for Astronomy, she had to admit that an afternoon class was a nice change - especially when she had such an early class the next morning normally. Skipping and tumbling her way down the grassy slopes from the Castle to the lake, she got there with a large, happy smile on her face as she gave Professor Kennedy a wave.


What did she know about the stars? Not very much aside from what they had learnt last year and what she had happened to read in her encyclopedias growing up. However, her hand moved into the air easily enough - waiting her turn before answering. “I know that every star we see at night, is much bigger and brighter than the sun.” Nodding her head, she twirled her quill within her fingers, getting ready for all of the notes that she would be taking.

After all, this would be important… Right? He wouldn’t ask them to do something that wasn’t relevant… Not like Professor Dopple. She was crazy… Actually, more like Krazy with a K like her dead kneazle… She really should check on that poor thing and make sure it was still moving….


How was the sun used? Other than to get a tan and to make everything bright and shiny and happy? Hmmmm. Holly thought about it for a minute or two as she listened to some of the answers her classmates were giving before she slowly raised her hand. “Professor? I’m pretty sure the sun helps to make our weather patterns… Like how the moon affects the sea’s tides.”

Or so she thought. Once more, she continued writing down everything that was said - scribbling Professor Kennedy’s own notes next to it if there was anything interesting.

Was he asleep? No. Was he paying attention? Ehhh..... debatable.

Eamon's eyes had been long distracted by the surface of the water. So much so that he'd missed the first question entirely. But that was fine. He didn't exactly have all the answers here. Or any? Astronomy wasn't exactly his cup of juice. It wasn't something he prided himself on being good at. But that didn't mean he didn't enjoy the lectures. Which was why he was here year after year (and also because it was mandatory).

His gaze lifted finally, falling on the professor as the students began answering the second question, quickly picking up that it was about the sun.

His hand went up carefully, not completely sure if this had been said or not but.... We'll give it a go. "It makes the moon shine." Wait no. That sounded stupid. "It well... the uh, the sun reflects off the moon so that we have a bit of light at night."

Flustered? Eamon? Always.

Was it surprising that Professor Kennedy liked looking at the stars? No. Did it still make him smile? You bet!

Lucas sat there, head tilted slightly as he tried to take in everything the man was saying. They were going to be learning about the Sun? Huh. He glanced up at the sky, his thoughts now wandering away, and not because he was distracted by the lake. He really didn't expect them to be learning about the Sun - and it wasn't the first star he thought of when the professor mentioned stars - but he probably should've seen it coming. The time, the setting.....

....... oh? A question?

Blinking, he tuned back into the lesson just in time to hear other students' answers about the Sun and its...... uses? There were a lot of smart answers here - and he meant a LOT - but all he could think of was the most obvious one. And it was, uh, probably dumb? But it was TRUE!

So, up went the hand with a bit less confidence than it had done before. "We need the Sun to see." Pause. "I mean, we have Lumos and fire and electricity but before all of that, people used to rely only on the Sun to see the things around them and go about their day. And we still kind of do. Kind of. "I guess it's why we've..... grown to do things in the daylight?" That last bit he..... wasn't sure about but he was throwing it in there.

The talk had begun on the stars which they weren’t really going to see at the moment. Except the sun, which as mentioned was also a star, that was still visible up in the afternoon sky. The now obvious reason, Septimus realized, for the class being on the early side this time around even before Professor Kennedy. And as it turned out, the sun would be the subject matter for a bit of time. Cool…or rather…hot.

As for its practical uses, the current question of the lesson, the fourth year had to admit that it wasn’t hard to think on them. You just had to speak up and give them before your classmates said anything. There was heat and light. Powering your homes which was mostly a muggle thing. Telling time. Treating water. Getting plants to grow and prosper. Divination. Tanning, vitamin D and keeping oneself cheerful. All were good uses of the sun that his fellow students were spouting.

“To dry things. Whether your clothes after you wash them, or surfaces affected by rains and floods.” That was what he could think of that hadn’t been said already.

One of the things Hanna loved about learning at Hogwarts was how quickly, and perfectly things came together. Afternoon class, ask about stars, of course it's about the sun. Plus, it was good knowing what they would be studying for the next few months. It let her know to focus on the sun when she was doing her homework, and study. For exams. Plus the dreaded O.W.L.s next year.

But what did she really know about the sun now? All of the quick ones, like vision, energy, warmth, they were spoken of. Giving it a random go, she raised her hand, "Er... does it help with gravity?" What did she mean by that? She had no idea. But like the moon and tides, perhaps the sun did something else to something else.

You know, come to think of it, there was a lot of information about the sun out there. Torii thought about the things she knew. You could get a sun tan by laying out in the sun, but she doubted seriously the professor was looking for any information on sun tanning. Although, the Head Boy himself had just suggested that very thing, so she'd been beaten to the punch.

Oh, well.

As another thought came to mind, Torii raised her hand. "The sun helps us measure time. For example, when the earth makes one full revolution around the sun, we know that a year has passed," she said. There was also the measuring a day, too, but she decided to save that idea for somebody else to suggest.

"Muggles study the sun and imitate it and create sun lamps to help people with depression," Camilus said, thinking of the contraption that he had seen at one of his muggle friends' house.

Valencia's hand shot up immediately. She had a muggle science book that she had begged for after seeing an advertisement on the muggle box (which she entertained her mother's belief that that was what the television was called).

"You can use the sun for a solar oven! I made a pizza once!" True story. "Orrr orrr you can hold up a magnifying glass to black paper and it'll make little burn marks so you can make a fun design." That one was on page 52 of her science book.

The second example wasn't really useful, but it was fun.

So there weren't going to be talking about the stars or the planets in the sky. The topic was the sun. Alrighty then. Rylee quietly took down some notes as those around her all gave their answers. There was a good bit of information to be written down too. Lifting her hand into the air she waited until it was her turn. "It's needed to help grow food." Plants, trees and flowers all needed sunlight to help them grow. Everyone needed to eat and there was tons of food that could be grown without much trouble.

Speaking of sunlight she needed to get to the oasis and check on her own plants and make sure they were all getting enough. There might be enough time after the lesson to take a quick peek on that if she was quick enough.

Charlie smiled when Professor Kennedy thanked her for her answer. She wanted to respond with a proud, boastful "You're welcome!" but decided it wasn't a great idea (she had to cover her mouth, though).

She rose her hand a lot quicker for this question. "Sun dials." That's a good answer, right? "When the sun is out, it can tell people what time it is based on its position. The shadows of the sun are like the hands of the clock for a sundial, and they'll align with certain hour lines. You can make a sundial in the sand or dirt or... out of anything you want."

She didn't suppose it would really help at night, though....