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The brilliant colors of the sunset have been painted over by the mystical navy blue of the night sky and as you enter the Astronomy classroom you can see the moon clearly through one of the many windows. The desks are arranged in their usual semi circle to help created a more personal environment, only something seems a bit off as you go to sit down. Both the desk and chair wobble as the legs on one side are longer than the other and cause you to lean quite a bit. Try not to fall out of your seat or have your things fall to the floor, yes?
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."
A lamp, a quaffle, and 3 can lids painted black rest in the middle of the professor's desk. Professor Flamsteed, wearing the same top hat you may have spotted him with at the Opening Feast, can be seen standing to the right of his desk with a giddy expression on his face and offers you a salute as you move to take your seat.
So come on in and have a seat. Class will begin shortly.
⌦Lesson Progression
▸ question 1 :: what is your favorite season and why?
▸ question 2 :: why does the Earth have seasons?
▸ question 3 :: why does the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis matter to our weather?
▸ question 4 :: what do June 21 and December 21 have in common?
▸ question 5 :: how could you prove that the Earth is spinning?
▸ activity :: PENDULUM DODGEBALL
▸ clarification! :: clarifying instructions & professor joins the game
▸ start wrapping up :: 6 ish hour warning before activity ends!
▸ class dismissed!
This lesson has officially started! Please do not announce your character arriving late and just pretend like they have been in class all along. You are free to jump in any time and should use the lesson progression links to keep up.
doesn't proofread tweets | #wrongaboutcereal | #siriusly? | emo to the extremo
Why was he moving so much. One second he was here. And then there. And then back here again. GAH. This was by far the most tiring class Zander had ever experienced. Another question? Boy was there a lot of talking in Astronomy. Don't you normally just look through a telescope and try to find shapes in the sky or something? Zander chose to stay quiet this time around, instead of answering the question as he noticed all his other classmates were taking care of that bit. So instead he just vigorously wrote down some notes that he hadn't had the time to take down while Professor Flamsteed was proclaiming his love for the Earth's axis or what not.
SNAP.
And there goes the new quill. Aw man. Now his parchment is all splotchy and inked on.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Lemon!
Why was he moving so much. One second he was here. And then there. And then back here again. GAH. This was by far the most tiring class Zander had ever experienced. Another question? Boy was there a lot of talking in Astronomy. Don't you normally just look through a telescope and try to find shapes in the sky or something? Zander chose to stay quiet this time around, instead of answering the question as he noticed all his other classmates were taking care of that bit. So instead he just vigorously wrote down some notes that he hadn't had the time to take down while Professor Flamsteed was proclaiming his love for the Earth's axis or what not.
SNAP.
And there goes the new quill. Aw man. Now his parchment is all splotchy and inked on.
Justine was taking notes, she hadn't participated much in the lesson as she was feeling less than enthusiastic today, it wasn't for any particular reason, she was just feeling lazy. Having to balance her chair wasn't helping with her lack of enthusiasm. Wibble, Wobble, Wibble. This was really tiring.
The young girl was minding her own business, when to her side she heard a sickening snap. Oh, she knew that sound very eel, she encountered it far too often for her own liking. Looking to the side she saw a young man looking down at a broken quill and ruined parchment. Poor guy, that was just the worst. Maybe she ought to give him hand...
"Zat's zee worst," Justine said, nodding to the mess of ink, feathers and parchment on the boy's desk. She pulled out her wand from her robe pocket and without another thought siphoned up the ink with a nifty spell she'd just learned. "I can fix your quill if you'd like," Justine added quietly in her thick Parisian accent.
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the moon: feminine, intuitive, inner strength, innocence
doesn't proofread tweets | #wrongaboutcereal | #siriusly? | emo to the extremo
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicole black
Justine was taking notes, she hadn't participated much in the lesson as she was feeling less than enthusiastic today, it wasn't for any particular reason, she was just feeling lazy. Having to balance her chair wasn't helping with her lack of enthusiasm. Wibble, Wobble, Wibble. This was really tiring.
The young girl was minding her own business, when to her side she heard a sickening snap. Oh, she knew that sound very eel, she encountered it far too often for her own liking. Looking to the side she saw a young man looking down at a broken quill and ruined parchment. Poor guy, that was just the worst. Maybe she ought to give him hand...
"Zat's zee worst," Justine said, nodding to the mess of ink, feathers and parchment on the boy's desk. She pulled out her wand from her robe pocket and without another thought siphoned up the ink with a nifty spell she'd just learned. "I can fix your quill if you'd like," Justine added quietly in her thick Parisian accent.
Stilling moping over his sad piece of parchment Zander almost missed the fact that someone had started talking to him! After quickly checking his surroundings to make sure Professor Flamsteed wasn't need by he looked up at the girl. Yeah, he agreed. It was 'ze' worst. And though he was embarrassed to admit, his "Magic" skills weren't up to par just yet and he didn't have any other quills so he really did need the help. Although he was a little reluctant to speak up, firstly because he wasn't the most talkative little wizardly, but secondly because he was afraid of getting yelled at by his eccentric professor.
Woah! She cleaned it all up for him. Wow, he liked her already. Silently praying that he wouldn't get called out for speaking he leaned over and whispered to the older girl. "Wow, thanks so much. That-uh-that was really nice. And yeah, that would be er- that would be really, um, really nice of you." He held the quill up to her and a little more ink dripped onto his fingers as he did.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Lemon!
Stilling moping over his sad piece of parchment Zander almost missed the fact that someone had started talking to him! After quickly checking his surroundings to make sure Professor Flamsteed wasn't need by he looked up at the girl. Yeah, he agreed. It was 'ze' worst. And though he was embarrassed to admit, his "Magic" skills weren't up to par just yet and he didn't have any other quills so he really did need the help. Although he was a little reluctant to speak up, firstly because he wasn't the most talkative little wizardly, but secondly because he was afraid of getting yelled at by his eccentric professor.
Woah! She cleaned it all up for him. Wow, he liked her already. Silently praying that he wouldn't get called out for speaking he leaned over and whispered to the older girl. "Wow, thanks so much. That-uh-that was really nice. And yeah, that would be er- that would be really, um, really nice of you." He held the quill up to her and a little more ink dripped onto his fingers as he did.
The younger boy looked so worried, but then Justine supposed he was a little anxious about talking in class, she certainly had been, now that Justine had gotten more comfortable she didn't even blink an eye. The Professors hardly ever noticed in class talking and in this case it seemed justified.
"You're welcome, and it vas nothing, I've been vaiting for a chance to use zat spell," Justine said, winking at the younger boy as she replied. He seemed sweet, if a bit out of his depth and immediately Justine felt compelled to befriend him, after all she had been like him just last year, worried and nervous about doing wrong. Was he new? He seemed like it and the Ravenclaw hasn't seem him around before...
Taking the broken quill from the blond boy, Justine held it up and lightly tapped it with her wand. "Reparo," She muttered, watching with satisfaction as the quill mended, seemingly on its own. She handed the quill back, smilingly at the boy in a friendly manner. "Zere, you go all fixed," Justine said. "I'm Justine by zee way, are you new?" She politely asked.
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the moon: feminine, intuitive, inner strength, innocence
Dani's Citrus Duck Spawn | Mama Giraffe | Lemon PATch | Pushed the Red Button
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tegz
He eyed the small boy with the enthusiasm and wondered if he really was expecting an explanation about what macking was in this class. Pshh his prefects could explain it in detail. Heh. He eyed his friends at that thought and then returned his attention to the professor.
... what? No high five? Dima's face fell.
Some people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie
Merlin. No. Just no. NOOOOOOOO.
"Save it for after the lesson, Mr. Toussaint. Not the high five. Those are perfectly acceptable."
Save what? Huh?
And why did the professor have to REMIND him about the tragedy of not receiving a high five back?
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie
"Now, the answer to this question has already been alluded to, but just humor me for a moment. We associate the summer with being hot and winter with being cold. Looking again at our crude example of the Earth orbiting the Sun, can anyone tell me why this happens? Why does the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis matter to our weather? Please try to keep your answers as concise as possible, but you are certainly allowed more than 5 words this time around."
He didn't even bother answering the seasons question, on account of he had no idea. Dima was just as clueless about this inquiry as he had been for the first, which was especially embarrassing in the face of all his classmates being human textbooks. What... what... tilt... axis... Earth... what?
And when did the professor get on a DESK?
"'Cause... sunlight.... hits... different spots?" Yeah? Yeah!
True Ravenclaw right here.
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and so i took an axe to a mended fence.___________________.______._________________ __________________________________..____this is why we can't have nice things, darling.
doesn't proofread tweets | #wrongaboutcereal | #siriusly? | emo to the extremo
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicole black
The younger boy looked so worried, but then Justine supposed he was a little anxious about talking in class, she certainly had been, now that Justine had gotten more comfortable she didn't even blink an eye. The Professors hardly ever noticed in class talking and in this case it seemed justified.
"You're welcome, and it vas nothing, I've been vaiting for a chance to use zat spell," Justine said, winking at the younger boy as she replied. He seemed sweet, if a bit out of his depth and immediately Justine felt compelled to befriend him, after all she had been like him just last year, worried and nervous about doing wrong. Was he new? He seemed like it and the Ravenclaw hasn't seem him around before...
Taking the broken quill from the blond boy, Justine held it up and lightly tapped it with her wand. "Reparo," She muttered, watching with satisfaction as the quill mended, seemingly on its own. She handed the quill back, smilingly at the boy in a friendly manner. "Zere, you go all fixed," Justine said. "I'm Justine by zee way, are you new?" She politely asked.
He reached for his newly repaired quill and let an easy smile embrace his face. Magic really was amazing. He drew a little swirl around his parchment and woah! It was as good as new. "Woah. It's amazing, thank you. You're really good at this stuff." Zander knew who he was going to sit next to in charms and transfiguration. Justine definitely knew her stuff. He looked up from his quill once more as she spoke up again. Quick check to make sure Professor Flamsteed hadn't started yet, and "Um, not really" answering this question was always so embarrassing. "I-uh- just never really participated until this year." Yes. He was shy. VERY shy. But he didn't want to tell her that right away. What if she stopped being friendly?!?
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Lemon!
Airey couldn't help himself and smirked at the brief pause before hands went up. Yes, it was a challenge to concise one's answers down to such few words, but it was also a stellar mental exercise to get students really looking at the facts, the big picture, and pushing their understanding. He liked seeing the little wheels in their heads spinning.
Heh.
Although it looked as though the challenge may have short circuited Miss Newell's brain. Oops.
Offering her an encouraging smile, because he was preeeeeeeetty sure he understood what she was trying to say, he tapped her desk twice with his knuckles. "I believe you are on the right track, Miss Newell."
Hopefully the coming explanation would confirm this.
The astronomer's initial reaction was to squint, say no, and then move on to the next raised hand, but he was in an especially giddy mood this evening so he found the prefect's response...amusing and decided to throw some dry humor right back at her.
"Of course," he chuckled. "The Sun and Earth converse with one another on a daily basis to ensure that you get the most use out of what surely must be an extensive wardrobe. Congratulations, Miss Robertser, you have discovered the answer to the universe."
Wink.
More chuckling. Definitely more chuckling. At least someone had made the connection between the chairs and his question. It HAD been the entire point, and a rather inspired one if he said so himself.
"In laymen's terms, I suppose that is one way to describe it," he mused before moving on to the next raised hand.
Ignoooooooooooring the macking bit of the boy's answer, he instead focused on the latter part and.................got confused and for whatever reason suddenly imagined the entire population of the world putting on sunglasses when they wanted it to be winter. Sunglasses apparently made people look cool, you know?
"Not....exactly..." he blinked at the Gryffindor before moving on. Yeah, not sure how to field that one.
This response, well, he knew how to field this one. Or he hoped he did because Miss Brown's witty humor had him in a fit of manly giggles. "That was a stellar one, Miss Brown," he salutes. "You may be giving Mr. Barrington a run for his galleon with your wit."
"And let us hope they stay that way," he nodded. That was an entirely different field of study, humanity's impact on the environment, and one that was a rather unpleasant one.
Airey chuckled. "If only the universe were so accommodating."
SPOILER!!: the quiet peeps :3
Giving small nods to those choosing to remain silent, he couldn't help but wonder just what Mr. Barrington was writing down on his parchment and took a small peek. "Planet," he snort!chuckled before giving the prefect two firm pats on the shoulder. That WAS a good one. The fact that Miss Konstantinova remained quiet was a little unsettling. Hopefully she wasn't too upset about the small point loss. The astronomer just really valued his personal space...
An eyebrow raise toward Mr. Mordaunt happened. Keeping TWO eyes on you, good sir. And thankfully Miss Cooper had dropped the macking subject. Yes. Thank you.
Go ask a prefect after class please. Yes.
SPOILER!!: Earth’s orbit answers
Ah yes, he had been expecting this answer to come up and while not entirely incorrect, because it obviously was a piece of the puzzle, it just wasn't THE piece. "You are not wrong in saying that the Earth's orbit around the Sun plays a role in the creation of the seasons, for without its slightly elliptical orbit it would always be the same season on either hemisphere, there is something else that plays a bigger role," he began, making sure to make eye contact with each student who had offered up an answer. "Likewise, it is a common misconception that the Earth is closer to the Sun in the summer and that is why it is hotter and the opposite is true for winter. This, however, is a very incorrect assumption. Ironically enough, in the Northern Hemisphere we experience winter when Earth is closest to the Sun and summer when it is farthest away."
How was THAT for some interesting Astronomy factoids to owl home about?!
"The Earth's orbit plays a greater role in the length of each season," he continued as he gave his wand a flick towards the board to make a diagram appear.
Even MORE interesting factoids to owl home about, yeah? YEAH!
SPOILER!!: Earth is spinning answers
"The spin of Earth on it's axis is also important, but for a very different reason," he nodded. "In fact, this spin creates weather, sunrises, sunsets, and a plethora of other important things to life on Earth. While also being a piece to the greater puzzle that is the seasons." But just not THE piece.
SPOILER!!: TILT!
SPOILER!!: Saraie
Even though nearly everyone had answered the question correctly. But she mostly wanted to see if she could get the answer out in less than three words. She raised her hand "Earth's Axis." Yes, two words best then you paragraph talkers. Two words. She was very pleased with herself.
And speaking of sunrises and sunsets....
"SUNRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE SUNSET," he sang as he leaped up onto Mr. Reham's desk first before making his way along Mr. Strand's desk, and then Mr. Kim's. "SUNRIIIIIIIIIISE SUNSET!" Stilling singing and leaping his way to Mr. Adair, Miss Carrington, Mr. Walker, and Mr. Mordaunt's desks. "SWIFTLY FLOW THE YEEEEEEEEEEEEEARS!" On to Miss Wayne, Miss Guidry, Miss Colbert, and Miss Kittredge's desks now. "ONE SEASON FOLLOWING ANOOOOOOOOOOOOTHEEEEEEEEER!" Now slowly leaping his way across Miss Jensen, Mr. Hazelwood, and Miss Channing-Sands' desks. "BECAUSE OF PLANETS....ON A TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILT!" he concluded as he stood triumphantly on Miss Bayless' desk, both arms up in the like actors tended to do at the end of a big musical number in the theater.
SPOILER!!: too many words people :3
SPOILER!!: Chiara
Lucy raised her wand and she said:"the phenomenon of the seasons is caused by the inclination of the Earth on its axis of rotation..When I was a child I tought that the seasons were created by the four fairies always fighting for the power who then have agreed to have the power to change the weather free months per head!"
Lowering his arms, but still very much standing on the Gryffindor's desk, he looked to the students who had just spoke and smirked. "Five words or less," he replied, tapping his nose with his index finger.
Although he did find the story about fairies Miss Petersfield told to be amusing and definitely gave him an idea for a homework assignment. Kudos to you, young lady!
And he should get down now yes? Yes.
10 point landing to the professor! WOOT!
Could...but wouldn't. At least not in the classroom. So he gave Mr. Kyroh a small nod before hearing his answer.
"VERY interesting that you bring that story up," he applauded. Three claps, by the way. "Before the ancients were able to rely on more scientific methods to explain the natural world, they created myths to explain how world and humankind assumed their present form. It wasn't until around 480 BCE that a Greek philosopher by the name of Oenopides became the first to calculate the degree of the Earth's tilt."
Airey grinned at Mr. Branxton. "That is an excellent question, Mr. Branxton, but you may be surprised to hear that other planets DO in fact possess a tilt. In fact, Mars, Saturn and Neptune all have a tilt roughly the same angle as Earth’s, so they experience a similar cycle of spring, summer, autumn and winter. The difference is that these seasons last a much longer time." As he had mentioned earlier with a season on Neptune lasting 40 some years! "Uranus is also on a tilt, but its angle is much more severe than other planets, so the planet experiences much more extreme seasons. Jupiter, Venus and Mercury, on the other hand, have nearly no tilt at all and therefore do not experience noticeable changes from season to season."
A demonstration here in just another minute or two should help demonstrate this a little better.
AND SOME DRAMATIC FINGER POINTING AND CRAZY!MAN GRINNING TOWARDS YOU MR. ODESSA!
"STELLAR!" he cheered. "Did you all hear Mr. Odessa just now? Consider his words to be our mantra for remembering just what causes the seasons. Take two points, Mr. Odessa."
Should put that to some music. Hmmmm...
CHUCKLE!SNORT!
"You never cease to amuse me, Mr. Toussaint," he laughed.
Seeing that there were no other hands raised, Airey adjusted his tie that had gone a bit collywobbles during his leaping - which had taken great skill, by the way, considering how wobbly they were. He had practiced. Seriously. He had.
Heading back to his desk, Airey tapped the lamp with his wand to turn it on and flooded the room with a bright but welcoming light. He then picked up the quaffle and held it out...and then got awkward. "I must appologize for use of this. I had not predicted that its presence would make so many of you uncomfortable." Disclaimer. Sorry. He thought that something familiar and something students were passionate about would be welcoming. "Image that this quaffle here is the Earth and that this black line here is the equator. Our lamp over here shall represent the Sun." He then enchanted the quaffle to float in the air and guided it with a few fluid wand movements. "Now, imagine an line going right through the quaffle, from top to bottom. This imaginary line is called the axis and this is what the Earth spins on," he continued as he charmed the quaffle to spin slowly around in place.
"Now, the Earth's axis does not stand up perfectly straight like it is now, but rather at a 23 and a half degree tilt and the Earth remains at this tile for the entire year in space. That's all 365 and Ľ days," he explained as he charmed the quaffle's position to reflect this. "Now, the amount of light hitting the quaffle has not lessened any, but rather the dispensation of it has. The bit that is tilted towards the Sun is receiving more of the light, so this tilt towards the Sun is what causes summer. The lower part of the quaffle, as you can see, is not receiving the light directly, but at an angle, so this tilt away from the Sun is what causes winter."
With another wave of his wand, he sent the Earth!quaffle on its way to orbit the lamp.
"SUNRIIIIIIISE SUNSET SUNRIIIIIISE SUNSET...THIS IS KIND OF WEEEEEEEEEIRD ... IT IS A DIFFERENT SEEEEEEEEEASOOOOOOON ... IN THE EARTH’S OTHER HEMISPHERE."
Alright, that didn't flow as smoothly off the tongue. NO MATTER!
Flicking his wand towards the board to show another diagram for reference while the quaffle continues to act all Earth-like.
"Now, the answer to this question has already been alluded to, but just humor me for a moment. We associate the summer with being hot and winter with being cold. Looking again at our crude example of the Earth orbiting the Sun, can anyone tell me why this happens? Why does the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis matter to our weather? Please try to keep your answers as concise as possible, but you are certainly allowed more than 5 words this time around."
OOC: class will resume sometime tomorrow GMT somewhere between 12 to 16 hours from the time of this post hopefully <3
After all of the primping and preening needed to get into the classroom they weren’t allowed more than five words? This was an outrage. Really it was. Professor Flamsteed was limiting them completely and utterly limiting them. She didn’t like this one bit.
After all it wasn’t an unknown fact that Amelia was one of those wordy people whose words kind of just flew from her mouth without the ability for it to stop. And well, maybe just maybe he wasn’t feeling well…people who didn’t feel well sometimes didn’t want to hear a lot of words or talking.
“Professor could it be because the way the sunlight hits the earth determines how hot or how cold it is in one area?” She asked carefully. “And thinking that way if the earth wasn’t on an axis wouldn’t the winters always be the same length on both the southern and northern hemispheres? If you know the earth was not ‘wonkily’ tipping on its side more and more every year?” She asked careful with her word choice.
Even if a part of her wanted to see how many shades of red his face could go...if she simply said the word astrologer or astrology it would...that was funny...so funny when his face went all magenta because of her word choice last term.
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IT'S NOT AN ACT OF LOVE __________________________________________________ ___________ ____________
IF YOU MAKE HER ____________
Last edited by itsjustjesse; 05-12-2014 at 09:55 PM.
Richard was definitely lost. There was a lot of talking (why was everybody so smart, ugh!) and singing and apparently, dancing. Wow. Just. Wow. He was definitely trying to take notes but, forgetting the fact that he could barely spell some of the words writing down, these notes would be hard to read considering that Richard apparently lacked the ability to write on a titled desk. Oops. Still, he raised his hand at Professor Flamsteed's question. "Is it because it determines the amount of sunlight we get? Sunlight is important to our weather, isn't it?"
Apparently not up here in Scotland, but nevermind that.
A singing and dancing professor? Amazing! Norah giggled delightedly when he landed on her desk, belting a song enthusiastically. She had expected classes at Hogwarts to be fun, but not to this level. Her eye grew wide as she watched Professor Flamsteed's demonstration, but she didn't recall anything about weather in answer to his next question. Hmm...The light hit different parts of the quaffe, that made sense, but weather patterns? Norah pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill to take notes. She might as well learn it if she didn't know, right?
Baguette | there is no D in my name | TRAITORclaw | Queenie of Narnia
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie
"Now, the answer to this question has already been alluded to, but just humor me for a moment. We associate the summer with being hot and winter with being cold. Looking again at our crude example of the Earth orbiting the Sun, can anyone tell me why this happens? Why does the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis matter to our weather? Please try to keep your answers as concise as possible, but you are certainly allowed more than 5 words this time around."
Yeah, Penelope decided against trying to make an answer into four words. Not that she was against short answers, but she didn't want to put in the effort of trying to make sure it was within a certain limit. Everyone else already did fine with answering anyway so no need to repeat it all.
This question, though, she supposed she'd give it a shot anyway. So her hand went up. "If it wasn't tilted, the sunlight would hit the Earth differently than it does with it tilted. I guess the hemispheres might even have the same seasons at the same time if it wasn't tilted since it seems like the tilt is what makes them different. So the tilt matters a lot." At least that was her guess on why it did.
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if we fall, we will fall together; and when we rise, we will rise together__________________♥♥♥♥ together we are dangerous; together with our differences; together we are bolder, braver, stronger
lives in a hobbit hole || Ern and Touz's Nuzzle || roflysst || looking at a seed packet
SPOILER!!: professorrr
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie
AND SOME DRAMATIC FINGER POINTING AND CRAZY!MAN GRINNING TOWARDS YOU MR. ODESSA!
"STELLAR!" he cheered. "Did you all hear Mr. Odessa just now? Consider his words to be our mantra for remembering just what causes the seasons. Take two points, Mr. Odessa."
Should put that to some music. Hmmmm...
Seeing that there were no other hands raised, Airey adjusted his tie that had gone a bit collywobbles during his leaping - which had taken great skill, by the way, considering how wobbly they were. He had practiced. Seriously. He had.
Heading back to his desk, Airey tapped the lamp with his wand to turn it on and flooded the room with a bright but welcoming light. He then picked up the quaffle and held it out...and then got awkward. "I must appologize for use of this. I had not predicted that its presence would make so many of you uncomfortable." Disclaimer. Sorry. He thought that something familiar and something students were passionate about would be welcoming. "Image that this quaffle here is the Earth and that this black line here is the equator. Our lamp over here shall represent the Sun." He then enchanted the quaffle to float in the air and guided it with a few fluid wand movements. "Now, imagine an line going right through the quaffle, from top to bottom. This imaginary line is called the axis and this is what the Earth spins on," he continued as he charmed the quaffle to spin slowly around in place.
"Now, the Earth's axis does not stand up perfectly straight like it is now, but rather at a 23 and a half degree tilt and the Earth remains at this tile for the entire year in space. That's all 365 and Ľ days," he explained as he charmed the quaffle's position to reflect this. "Now, the amount of light hitting the quaffle has not lessened any, but rather the dispensation of it has. The bit that is tilted towards the Sun is receiving more of the light, so this tilt towards the Sun is what causes summer. The lower part of the quaffle, as you can see, is not receiving the light directly, but at an angle, so this tilt away from the Sun is what causes winter."
With another wave of his wand, he sent the Earth!quaffle on its way to orbit the lamp.
"SUNRIIIIIIISE SUNSET SUNRIIIIIISE SUNSET...THIS IS KIND OF WEEEEEEEEEIRD ... IT IS A DIFFERENT SEEEEEEEEEASOOOOOOON ... IN THE EARTH’S OTHER HEMISPHERE."
Alright, that didn't flow as smoothly off the tongue. NO MATTER!
Flicking his wand towards the board to show another diagram for reference while the quaffle continues to act all Earth-like.
"Now, the answer to this question has already been alluded to, but just humor me for a moment. We associate the summer with being hot and winter with being cold. Looking again at our crude example of the Earth orbiting the Sun, can anyone tell me why this happens? Why does the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis matter to our weather? Please try to keep your answers as concise as possible, but you are certainly allowed more than 5 words this time around."
OOC: class will resume sometime tomorrow GMT somewhere between 12 to 16 hours from the time of this post hopefully <3
[/FONT][/COLOR]
West grinned. Points for a rhyme, okay. Did Flammy want a whole song? Because hell, why not? The Dead Kneazles could totally do one for him. He listened to the explanation and watched, nodding every now and then.
Another question.
And actually.... West figured his same answer would do in a different way. So he put his hand up and repeated, "Tilted rotation effects exposure duration." Pause.
"Except in this case we're talking on a day by day basis and not seasonally, though they feed into each other. When a particular part of the Earth is tilted toward the sun for longer, then that hemisphere is also exposed to more Sun during the course of its day because more surface area gets sunlight. We're talking about latitude here, the closer to the equator the more direct sunlight there is and the warmer it is because even with the tilt that part is exposed for longer so the density of light from the Sun is higher, while closer to the poles being exposed to the Sunlight for less time and with less light density means night comes faster and the temperature is lower." That was... enough words. Yeah. He stopped his explaining.
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love is like a letter wrote :: and life is like an envelope
be careful who you give it to :: they might not give it back to you
Toby really wasn't surprised to hear Professor Flamsteed break out into a musical number. It was pretty, y'know, normal for him to do stuff like this after all. And what with LAST term and the whole oldness thing... well, he could absolutely forgive all the overdue desk jumping.
But Airey was saying a lot of words. SO MANY WORDS. Tobias was slightly alarmed to discover that his ability to pay attention to those words was somehow worse than it had ever been. Professor Flamsteed was talking and Toby would TRY SO HARD to listen and pay attention, but his focus would wander after hardly any time at all. Sure, he could always catch up with the textbook later on, but it wasn't quite the same as having something explained. Especially the way Airey explained things.
Frustrated with his own brain's inability to DO HIS BIDDING, Toby began to try and jolt himself back into concentrating, and shook his head hard every time his mind started to wander. Trouble was, the more it happened, the more vigorously he'd try and snap himself back, until eventually he overdid it and overbalanced. Before he knew what was even happening, Tobias accidentally rocked his already unsteady chair and flailed off of it sideways, giving a high pitched 'meeEEEEP!'
He sprang up just as fast as he'd gone down, and quickly righted his chair again, looking apologetically at Airey. "Sorry Professor," he said quickly, sitting carefully back in his chair and deciding to take notes on what people were saying. If he gave himself something to do, maybe he was less likely to become distracted?
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
Beverly Wayne didn't normally giggle in front of people, but when Professor Airey landed on her desk she couldn't help it. Hands flying up to her face, clasping over her mouth, she gave the tiniest giggle. Song plus jumping happy Airey was an amusing sight.
Without giving it much thought, she jotted down the song. It was catchy. And it was Airey. For the next question she raised her hand once more. "It's because of the tilt. When the Northern Hemisphere is leaning towards the sun that part of the planet receives the most light, like the Quaffle right there," she said, pointing at it and the lamp, "making it summer. When it tilts away, then the Southern Hemisphere receives more light than the Northern, thus giving us winter in the latter." Did that makes sense? "We get Spring and Fall when the sun shines in equal proportions on the North and the South."
Teapot Occamy| gryphons&giraffes&goats,OH MY | chaser of the truth | flutiful❧
Did the professor always sing and dance in class? Penelope raised her hand, "Because the Earth is tilted, the sunlight is more intense where the earth is tilted toward the sun."
Admiratrice des Maraudeurs | C-Rizzle | THE Best Snuggler
Number #386 reason to like Airey for teaching Astronomy - he sang songs to help teach. Marigold grinned at him before adding notes to her parchment. The whole quaffle analogy made complete sense, though now that Quidditch was actually stopped (it wasn't just a rumor ) it seemed like her was just teasing them. With his next question, she wasn't as sure, but she raised her hand anyway.
"Is it because the sun has a more direct path to places nearer to the equator? Which would mean that the poles barely had any sunlight, and the places where the sun didn't shine was night." Yeah?
Melek winced, forgetting the whole 'five words or less' thing. She blushed and listened as the professor talked and talked. Mel tried to listen but he was talking so fast it seems. Melek yawned and eyed him then the time. She raised her hand, "Closer to sun, makes Earth hotter, Farther from sun, makes Earth colder." It was pretty concise though it was 12 words... at least there wasnt a word limit for this question... right? Melek started to get even more embarrassed at the thought of that happening again. Mel started to try to hide but it wasnt a smart idea either way.
Hiss!Roar!Growl!Caw! | Hermione's Double | The Little Three | Alecate
There was singing...
...and even more singing. O_o
Sophie's head looked like a tennis ball bouncing around as she tried to follow the professor's quick song and dance movements across the room. When it appeared like he was settled down, Sophie focused on his question and tried to come up with an answer.
She raised her hand.
"It's like the axis is only letting one side of the Earth face the Sun at once," she said. "So the side that faces the Sun gets warmer weather, while the side that faces away from the Sun gets colder weather." Seemed easy enough.
This response, well, he knew how to field this one. Or he hoped he did because Miss Brown's witty humor had him in a fit of manly giggles. "That was a stellar one, Miss Brown," he salutes. "You may be giving Mr. Barrington a run for his galleon with your wit."
Well. Her terrible joke hadn't been poorly received, like she was expecting, and her face broke into a grin at the professor's laughter. "Thanks, professor. Best I could do on the spot." More like thanks for humoring her, but all the same, she appreciated his sense of humor, and threw Nigel a 'sup' nod.
As the class went on, Sophie realized she had almost forgotten how agile and full of energy Flamsteed was when he wasn't an elderly man. Bursting into song and jumping on desks and being a weirdo - it made Sophie giggle, though. She would prefer a class like this over one of Bellaire's any day. It wasn't even like the guy was shooting off nonsense - he was making really informational stuff fun. It didn't even matter that he was hard to follow sometimes - the excitement was too contagious.
She was kind of 'meh' about the whole quaffle thing, and watched the faces of fellow Quidditch players to see their reactions more than reacting herself - it was a nice educational tool on the professor's part, though. Suitable illustration. He was still singing, though, which was distracting - but it wasn't as distracting as Tobes falling out of his chair right next to her.
Text Cut: Tobes
Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir
Toby really wasn't surprised to hear Professor Flamsteed break out into a musical number. It was pretty, y'know, normal for him to do stuff like this after all. And what with LAST term and the whole oldness thing... well, he could absolutely forgive all the overdue desk jumping.
But Airey was saying a lot of words. SO MANY WORDS. Tobias was slightly alarmed to discover that his ability to pay attention to those words was somehow worse than it had ever been. Professor Flamsteed was talking and Toby would TRY SO HARD to listen and pay attention, but his focus would wander after hardly any time at all. Sure, he could always catch up with the textbook later on, but it wasn't quite the same as having something explained. Especially the way Airey explained things.
Frustrated with his own brain's inability to DO HIS BIDDING, Toby began to try and jolt himself back into concentrating, and shook his head hard every time his mind started to wander. Trouble was, the more it happened, the more vigorously he'd try and snap himself back, until eventually he overdid it and overbalanced. Before he knew what was even happening, Tobias accidentally rocked his already unsteady chair and flailed off of it sideways, giving a high pitched 'meeEEEEP!'
He sprang up just as fast as he'd gone down, and quickly righted his chair again, looking apologetically at Airey. "Sorry Professor," he said quickly, sitting carefully back in his chair and deciding to take notes on what people were saying. If he gave himself something to do, maybe he was less likely to become distracted?
A proper best friend might have looked concerned and offered him a hand to help him back up, but the Hufflepuff sprang back up so fast and she wasn't the typical best friend - so she had to cover her face in her hands, avoiding his gaze and stifling the laughter that had began as soon as he started tipping. Totally not laughing at him. With him.
Once she had sufficiently suppressed her laughter, she peeked through her fingers at him, still grinning goofily, and mouthed, Sorry. After another moment, she held onto her own desk and leaned toward him to mouth further, You okay? Because she did care. It was just... really funny. He would be the one to fall out of his chair in the middle of class. Just Tobes.
Flamsteed had officially lost it. Prancing around the classroom, singing about the planets' tilt. Jun just stared at his professor and rested his chin on his elbow. It was a good show, at least it would keep him awake with Airey being loud and all. But yes, the tilt. And seasons. "It matters because as Earth rotates around the sun, it tilts, so the farthest part is colder and the closest gets warmer. If the Southern Hemisphere is towards the sun, it's warm and the Northern Hemisphere is colder and vice versa," Oh look, Jun was actually participating in class and knew things. He usually stood quiet, like in History of Magic since he couldn't even be bothered to pay attention there.
And Ancient Runes.
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I don't bend easy, budge or break;
Trust me, you don't want it with the female Scarface;
*Oh if only Rom could give longer answers. But then he would be marked as a know-it-all and picked on. His hand still shot up as he gave his answer.*
"Because of the Earths axis and tilt only parts of the Earth get sunlight on it. When one side of the tilt is closer to the sun it is warmer, and the farthest is colder. Causing summer and winter."
What in the name of Merlin's beard was Flamsteed doing on her desk?!? Adrienne recoiled in surprise as her clearly insane professor sang and danced his way across the classroom, causing her already off-balance chair to wobble crazily and for her to be startled right off of it and onto the floor. She cursed loudly in French and gingerly got back up on her feet, glaring at the professor. Great, now her tailbone was probably bruised, and her ego most certainly was. That was not under any circumstances proper classroom conduct! It took all of her self-control to refrain from yelling at Flamsteed, since she was pretty sure he would just yell at her back and then she'd have detention, which would suck. Instead, Adrienne settled for a scowl as she rearranged herself and her stuff on her desk, trying to get her mind refocused at the topic at hand. Seasons. Not gutting her professor, seasons.
She quickly looked over the notes she'd already written before raising her hand to answer. "Well, whichever hemisphere is closer to the sun is receiving both more light and more heat, which obviously affects the weather because-" She cut herself off mid-sentence, and just before she went into a long, rambling explanation, too, squinting at her parchment. "Wait." Hold up. Everyone stop everything, because Adrienne was confused.
"On other planets, why are the seasons longer? It's just because the years are longer too, yeah? Or is there something else weird going on?" She wouldn't put it past the universe to have planets whose axis changed as they moved around the sun or who deliberately made things nonsensical just so that she wouldn't be able to understand.
Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
Everyone was giving approximately the same answer, so Mo contented himself with not answering. It was far more interesting to watch the quaffle!planet rotate on its axis and to take in first hand just exactly what the professor was talking about. The question was a bit basic, really, when you could just watch and figure it out.
It didn't hurt that the watching was of a quaffle, and that it made Mo feel sort of nostalgic and mopey. He dropped an elbow to his desk and watched the whole thing turn and turn and turn and turn with studied concentration.
Except the whole thing with seasons, because even if Lottie did have a favorite season (duh, spring! cherry blossoms, anyone?), she didn't acknowledge favorites, remember? So, she had to sit through that question, otherwise the other three seasons will get jealous. Wink.
Then Tobias kept mentioning summer and the sun and completely ruined the whole seasons thing for her. Sigh.
Oh, so that's why the desks were unbalanced, then. Good to know. Clever. AND LOOK AT THAT, Nigel didn't even need to speak to be annoying. Whatever that 'Planet' had been, it was obviously a joke. Typical.
NOW, speaking of sunrise and sunset... he could've mentioned both were an illusion, since the sun doesn't rise or set, it's merely the Earth's motion that makes it seem like it does. There's no horizon either, but that was neither here nor there. It was, however, yet another illusion.
Hand raised. "It matters because that is exactly how we get such different seasons, flora and fauna diversity, climate change. They would be mere illusions, just like the sunrise and the sunset. Both hemispheres would react the same from the equator to the north pole and from the equator to the south pole. Both poles would get the same exposure to light and heat as well, quite possibly redistributing the entire scenario of life we currently know." The poles would be the ones to suffer here, you know.
Long live the North. Winter is coming.
Quite literally, because they were currently experiencing autumn.
He needed to much attention. Cutty's face held like granite as Airey Flamsteed's long legs leaped and pranced from table to table with an agility Cutty had not seen the man perform since that fateful night their paths first crossed. Actually, this was more exaggerated, or maybe it just seemed so due to the elevation. Like a stage. Airey Flamsteed live and in person! Shows nightly!
He could probably sell the idea to that little Abby girl that kept bothering him whilst he was music shopping.
Cutty kept his eyes on the light and shadow and the chiascurro casted through the quaffle demonstration.
Hehe. The Professor thought he was amusing. Maybe he should think of a career as a comedian. His parents would just love that.
But while Airey thought he was rather humorous, Michael knew that the man wouldn't let him get away with it twice. Although it was rather hard to answer a question when everyone else already had pretty much given the same answers.
He raised his hand in the air again. "It's all about the TILT and the ANGLE. Because of that it allows the same amount of radiation to warm most of the atmosphere."
Astronomy Lesson 1 :: Seasons & Solstices 
x10 
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somewhere between 12 to 16 hours from the time of this post hopefully <3 
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) it seemed like her was just teasing them. With his next question, she wasn't as sure, but she raised her hand anyway. 
