|
Astronomy II: You Spin Me Right Round, Baby (Orbits and Kepler's Laws) The classroom doesn't look very extraordinary, with its semicircular arrangement of desks around a whiteboard. There's even nothing on the tables to clue you in to the subject of the day's lesson, just Professor Sandhu, not clad in the saree she usually is, but in activewear. No, not the obnoxious track-suity kind, but her headband makes it definitely clear that she's expecting to sweat. Take a seat, children, and maybe you'll notice the pair of roller skates under your desk. What could the old lady possibly have planned for today? OOC: Hey, hi, hello, and welcome to our second Astronomy seminar of the term. Please read through the Classroom Rules before posting if you haven't already! Lesson Progression: Greetings + Question 1: What can you tell me about the solar system? (feel free to comment on the origins, the size, the composition, or anything else) Responses to Question 1 + Question 2: Tell me about the findings of Johannes Kepler or otherwise describe how gravity works on objects in the Solar System Responses to Question 2 + Mini Activity Main Activity; ANNOUNCEMENT #1 Closing Remarks: Yes, she did forget to give homework. REJOICE. |
Patrick waked into the classroom not really amused by anything especially not the roller skates under his desk. He hadn’t seen Kam in days and he was really starting to get worried about his own well being in this castle. He had nearly died twice and here he was in his second to last year in danger again. #notafan Not totally rude he smiled at Professor Sandhu “hello professor. Are we going to be pretty active today?” he took his seat and contemplated putting his T-shirt back on. |
Analiese walked into the classroom and civilly addressed the professor. "Hello Professor Sandhu. You look... different." She grinned, trying her best not to sound rude. She hadn't noticed the roller skates yet. She took her usual seat and her foot brushed one of the skates. She peered under the desk to look at what it was. Oh no. Analiese was atrocious at roller skating. Hopefully they were using the skates for other purposes than roller skating. "Professor, are we skating at all today?" It was an unnecessary question. Of course they were skating. Why else was Professor Sandhu wearing a headband? |
Avalon's eyes flickered immediately to the pair of skates under her desk as she entered the Astronomy classroom. To make matters even more interesting, Professor Sandhu was dressed in an outfit that indicated future physical activity. So it seemed today would be a more active lesson! The first-year wasn't disappointed in the slightest. She had never tried skates before, but she figured that they might be similar to riding a broom. Balance was key, right? The young Ravenclaw claimed a desk next to her friend and housemate Analiese. "Good day, Professor," she said politely as she plopped down in a seat. Placing her books on the corner of her desk, she took a minute to pull her hair into a ponytail. If they were going to be doing physical activity today, she didn't want her hair getting in the way. |
No. Nina Castillo almost walked right back out of the room when she noticed Professor Sandhu’s getup. Immediately her guards were raised as she made her way within the classroom with suspicion. The desks weren’t arranged in any unusual manner, but that didn’t mean much as desks were quite easy to move. She paused briefly to acknowledge her Professor with fleeting eye contact before turning to find a place to sit. Cautiously. Because a seating choice was an important decision. In the end, she opted for a seat in the middle of the semicircle as it meant it would be the furthest away from being at the forefront. But before she sat, she inspected her surroundings. And that’s when she noticed the skates. NO. |
You wouldn't know there was a Hufflepuff missing by Archer's demeanor as she entered the class (spoiler: her demeanor was typical Archer). But rest assured, she was very concerned about the fate of said Hufflepuff. She just hoped Kam hadn't decided to venture out into the mist that was LITERALLY surrounding the castle. Like, right up to the walls. I mean, they were all suffering cabin fever here, but that's why you visited the Room of Requirement. Sure, it wasn't exactly like being outside, but it was better than being trapped in that atrocious fog. And she'd been there, done that, so she would know. Anyway, where was she? Oh yeah, the Astronomy classroom. She entered the room with a "Hello, professor!" and took a seat, toe brushing against a....what was that?! She peaked under her desk to find...a roller-skate. "Cool!" She was good at roller-skating. Maybe not as good as she was on a broom, but good. |
Tina was so sick of being cooped up in the castle! She missed being able to go for a run or fly around the quidditch pitch, but the worst part was the longer she spent in the castle, the more likely it was she'd cross paths with the people that annoyed her most. Ugh, stupid fog… mist, whatever it was called! That was another thing that drove her mad, come to think of it - nobody seemed to have any idea what this stuff surrounding the castle was, where it came from, or most importantly, how to stop it. Whatever the case, she wished it would just go away and let everybody get back to their normal lives! Despite her cabin fever, she was somewhat looking forward to this lesson. Astronomy was practically the only class she enjoyed more at Hogwarts than she had at Beauxbatons, and maybe a nice, quiet lesson would help take her mind off her frustrations. Her heart sank as she entered the room and noticed Professor Sandhu's unusual attire. She'd been at Hogwarts long enough to know that any obvious change from the norm like that foreshadowed a chaotic lesson. Whatever was planned, could they please just not? She already had enough upheaval in her life. Still, Tina wasn't one to go looking for trouble, so she kept her thoughts to herself and greeted the professor as politely as ever. "Hello, Professor," she said, giving her a nod of acknowledgment. As she took her seat, she noticed the roller skates, and that got the wheels turning (pun not intended) in her brain. Hmm… were they turning the classroom into a roller rink? She already had an idea how that might relate to astronomy, but only time would tell if she was right. |
Being that it was nearing OWLs, and things were happening in the castle causing much anxiety, Hanna hadn't really been sleeping well lately. So, the dark shadows under her eyes accompanied her to class, which she had payed enough attention to to realise they were to wear trousers to allow them to move. She wore her trousers, and had all of her Astronomy things with her as she made her way through the doors of the classroom. "Hello Professor," Hanna greeted, barely registering what was different in Professor Sandhu. It was as she sat down and saw the roller skates that she thought about what the lesson might actually involve. Huh. |
A lot of things ultimately caught Drewett's attention the moment he arrived inside the astronomy classroom. First, it was Professor Sandhu's attire. She wasn't in her usual. She was....did she just come back from a run? It was a lot to take in. Then it was the pair of roller skates hidden underneath the desk nearest to him. The Ravenclaw craned his neck to check if the other desks had them too. And they did. His eyebrows furrowed slightly. If they were going to put those on, rest assured he'd be failing this class already. Drewett didn't not have a sense of balance on his feet, especially with wheels on whatever footwear he'd be wearing. There was a tinge of panic growing inside him, thinking of all the possible activities and possible things that could go wrong in this class. Leave it to Drewett "Good day, professor..." the Ravenclaw greeted with a quick smile before taking a seat beside Nina. He'd assumed the Slytherin wouldn't be impressed with this setup, and he was right. The look on her face just spoke volumes. "Idon'tknowhowtoskate." He whispered as he placed his bag down on the floor. |
While Lucas always looked forward to Astronomy and the subject brought a genuine smile to his face, recent, uh, events made that smile harder and harder to conjure. But even as antsy as he was starting to feel, he tried to think only about the stars and constellations and- .............. Uhhhh?? Lucas paused. Yeah, sure, he didn’t care what Professors wore to their lessons but even he had to admit that Sandhu’s attire was....... not normal, at least for her. He shot her a funny look before saying, "Hello, Professor. Nice headband." Was this the reason behind the notice? Or was she just trying to promote a healthy lifestyle? Whatever the reason, the third year didn’t say anything more but, instead, went to sit on a seat somewhere close to the front of the class. It was only then that his foot touched something under his desk and he found himself bending over to look- .............. No. No no no. NO. Professor Sandhu, you are NOT going to ruin Astronomy with exercise. Not happening. |
Well, when Eloise usually comes into Astro it's not well normal looking..but today it was weird. Not because of the semi-circle but because Sandhu look well like she was ready to go to a roller derby and tell everyone to suit up and follow her there. The odds of that happening where virutally zero but it was a funny thought. "Hiya, Professor Sandu" Eloise said making her way to her seat Not really wanting to do exercise with adults since the last time she did she got caught in the mist and best not remember any of that or she might cry again. |
SPOILER!!: siriusblackliveson Simran looked up as the students began to arrive and proceeded to blot her pen and put it away. First in was Patrick Dooley. "Hello, Master Dooley," she smiled. "Somewhat, yes." SPOILER!!: SneakySeverusSnape Different was one way to put it. "Thank you, Ms Allanach-Senchuri," she said, a little puzzled by the tiptoeing around the subject. It wasn't as though they hadn't been warned. "Indeed, later." SPOILER!!: Fireheart "Good evening, Miss Sinclair," she said, standing and making her way towards the whiteboard to wait for the other arrivals on her feet. Also to show off her cute sneakers. SPOILER!!: ArianaBlack "Good evening to you as well, Ms Castillo," she called as the girl walked past her without a word. SPOILER!!: lazykitty "Hello, Ms Calrissian," she smiled. At least someone was excited about this. SPOILER!!: MadMadamMalfoy Next up was Ms Dantes, who seemed incredibly disheartened upon seeing her attire. Simran smiled, doing her best to keep the hurt inside, where it belonged, and greeted the girl with all the cordiality that was due. She'd put a lot of thought into this lesson, you see. "Hello, Ms Dantes." SPOILER!!: Jessiqua "Good evening, Ms Newton!" she greeted, still trying to muster up some cheeriness for the lesson. Goodness, this cabin fever business had her emotions far more sensitive than they usually were. SPOILER!!: Kimothy "Good evening, Master Slink- Gunter. Master Gunter." Yes, that would take some getting used to. She was thrilled for the boy, though. His mood seemed to have taken turns for the positive with the development, despite the unfortunate circumstances they were all under. SPOILER!!: hermionesclone "Thank you, Master Dakest!" she grinned, touching the headband at the compliment. There it was, her mood was restored. "I quite like it myself." Her watch told her she had a few more seconds before the door required closing. She'd wait. SPOILER!!: oh its Erik ok And in walked another student! "Good evening to you too, Miss Fairfield," she greeted, and then with a final glance at her watch, made her way to the door to shut it. Then, as was her usual way of doing things, made clean strides towards the centre of the room and flicked her wand at the whiteboard. Ah, the joys of magic -- she had never quite loved the feeling of chalk in her fingernails. A uniquely unpleasant sensation, that one was. "Thank you all for reading the notice and showing up in trousers this evening," she said, nodding at everyone. "I'm glad that we're all still capable of taking instruction. It'll definitely help us reduce the likelihood of any wardrobe malfunctions." "Now, back to the subject at hand." Astronomy, you see, not physical education. "What can you all tell me about our solar system?" Given that there was a lot to be said about the solar system, such as its origins, size, composition, and other assorted theories, Simran was particularly curious as to if anyone could make out what today's lesson was about. OOC: Welcome again to the lesson, everyone! Sorry this is short, but the heatwave in Europe's got me beat. Please do not post any more arrivals unless you want your character to suffer IC consequences! Class will move on approximately 24 hours from now. |
Now it would have been on brand for her to show up in anything but trousers. She was not really in the mood to risk things lately considering all that was happened to her recently. Oh where they talking about space now and not just stars. Eloise likey Solar System well pretty sure someone was going to bring up the debate of Planet X "Oh i know that the moon of Jupiter oh whats the one..I...Io yeah that one, has these huge massively awesome towering volcanic eruptions on it. Pretty cool i think" It counted since it was part of the solar system. Yeah space and the solar system was cool besides it behind so big and hard to wrap her head around it |
It was safe to say that Lucas was confused - and a little bit heartbroken about this lesson already - but that didn't stop him from offering Sandhu a smile in return. Maybe she wouldn't mind if he sat out for whatever the roller skates were for. Maybe. Oh, the solar system? The boy perked up immediately. This was more like it! This was something he could take part in, even if he didn't really understand what roller skates had to do with the solar system. Questions? He had them. Plenty of them. But first. "See, when our solar system was forming," he started, his hand up in the air, "the four planets closest to the Sun could only be made up of rocky material and metal that has condensed. This is because of how high the temperatures were." Pause. "But the planets outside of the Frost Line are much colder and that's where ice condensation occurred." |
Analiese quietly groaned when Professor Sandhu replied 'yes' to her question. She leaned over to Avalon and whispered. "I don't know how to skate. Do you?" She leaned back into her chair. The last time she exercised with adults she nearly got lost in the mist. The mere thought of it sent cold chills down her spine. And now they were talking about the solar system. Well done in regaining Analiese's interest in the lesson, Professor. She raised her hand and began to speak. "The solar system consists of eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto was once called a planet was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. Most of the planets were discovered by ancient Greek and Babylonian philosophers. In contrast, Neptune was discovered in the 18th century by two German astronomers, Uranus was discovered in the 19th century by a German astronomer and a French astronomer, and Pluto in the 20th century by an American astronomer." |
Patrick nodded his head about the eventually having to be active. He didn’t understand what roller skates had to do with astronomy but that didn’t matter because the first question was already coming and class was rolling on. He listened and wrote down what the others were saying and raised his own hand. “Some believe that life could exist on Mars because there is allegedly water on there.” he always loved to hear people have hour long discussions about that topic. |
Avalon smirked at Professor Sandhu's sly correction to her greeting. It was evening indeed, although the first year was under the impression that 'good day' could be used as a salutation for any hour. "Yes, good evening indeed!" she replied with a light laugh. Avalon turned to Analiese, who was obviously a bit nervous about the skates. "I don't know how to skate, either. Don't feel bad," she said, hoping that commiserating together would ease her friend's worries. And then the lesson had begun. Professor Sandhu was starting the lesson with a question about Astronomy - not skating. Thankfully, she knew a possible answer to the first question. After raising her hand, she said, "It's made up of tons of objects like planets, asteroids, and gases. And everything orbits around the sun." It was a relatively simple tidbit of information, but an important one nonetheless. And now that Avalon had offered her response, she had a faint idea of where this lesson might be heading. She figured that she might as well throw in another fun fact she had learned back in primary school. "It was also formed over four and half billion years ago!" In other words, a loooooong time ago. |
"People used to believe that our solar system revolved around the Earth instead of the Sun until, like, the 17th century." Which, if you asked her |
Drewett felt sheepish, but he smiled a little bit when Professor Sandhu corrected herself. He was also still getting used to it, even if it had been three months since the holiday break. There were also three Gunters in school now, so it was fine that any professor still got his surname mixed up. No worries at all, professor. Still didn't change the fact that he did not know how to skate. Watch him turn himself into a clown in tonight's lesson. Drewett was wearing trousers though, and he'd like to keep himself free from wardrobe malfunctions as the professor said. What can he tell her about the solar system though? A lot, if he were to be honest. The Ravenclaw enjoyed the physics in astronomy. Astrophysics. Science. The whole concept of it interested him. But he wasn't about to spill everything in one go. He listened to a few of his classmates share their thoughts first before he raised his hand. "Greek philosophers first b-believed that our solar system was geocentric. Th-the Earth was the center of the solar system, and everything including the p-planets and the sun revolved around it," Drewett shared. "But then this model was later replaced b-by heliocentrism, thanks to Nicolaus Copernicus, where the sun is in the middle. I-It's the model we believe in today." Insert tiny awkward smile here. |
SPOILER!!: replies And now that everyone who had planned to answer had done so, she could finally reveal the topic of the lesson. She did so love when students, one after another, gave her JUST the momentum she needed to go on. It was so energising, rejuvenating! Also, she really needed a win today, she’d been as miserable cooped up in the castle as the rest of them. “As Mr Gunter said, we did begin with the Ptolemaic model, where the solar system was mapped as so,” she said, jerking her head towards the whiteboard, where a piece of chalk was drawing. “As you may notice, if we switch the earth and the sun, Ptolemy basically had it right. The sun and moon were also on epicycles, according to this model, but it’s easier not to draw them. Likewise for the deferents for Venus and Mercury. You won’t be tested on this unless you’re a NEWT student, so if you’re particularly curious, there is information available in the syllabus.” She just wouldn’t cover it today. “Some time later, Copernicus -- God rest his beautiful soul, I miss having a portrait of him near my office -- published "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres," which was the first fully worked out idea in mathematical astro since Ptolemy. That was 1400 years, where the status quo went unchallenged.” The look in her eyes was clear. Don’t let this happen again. “Copernicus proposed the radical notion that the Earth wasn’t the centre of the solar system, but that the sun was. Mr Cope also believed in epicycles, which we don’t, but he correctly stated that planets don’t go backwards!” “His new theory also didn’t need to explain retrogade motion, which was a big problem at the time. What this means is that the other planets don’t actually go backwards, but that the only appear to, because the Earth is also travelling around the sun! However, this means that if the distance for one planet changes, all the distances had to change, which made the maths more complicated and less fun.” “However, he managed, and did have the order of the planets correct and their sidereal periods correctly calculated as well as pretty accurately calculating their orbit size. However, Mr Gunter was wrong. This is not the model used today, as that model relied heavily on epicycles, which are not a thing.” DUN DUN DUNNNN. “The model we use today is the model developed by Johannes Kepler, which is rather similar to Mr Cope’s. Can any of you describe what it was that Mr Kepler learned, or otherwise describe how gravity acts on parts of the solar system?” In the meantime she'd just take a seat on her desk and try get her breath back after that spiral of nerdiness. Whoops. OOC: HELLO GUYS. That was long, sorry. You'll have at least 24 hours to answer this question before we move on with the lesson! |
Tessa had quite the love-hate relationship with Astronomy. She loved the idea of it - it was quite fascinating, really - but when it came to the theoretical side, with maths and everything, she switched off. She didn't want to, believe her! She wanted to learn about the vast world around them, but... Never mind that. She was distracting herself with thoughts about how good it would be to fly out into the universe -- maybe she had been trapped inside for too long. Imagine, though! Freely floating about the universe, observing everything. That would be fun. And it would be practical, hands-on experience! Shame it wasn't possible. The seventh year brought her attention back to Professor Sandhu. Mr Kepler..... She tried to remember the things she had learnt before she had dropped Astronomy at NEWTs level. Uh... Nope. Nada. She could only remember the barest of facts. Everything was too wordy, which all the maths and physics. She raised her hand anyway and said what she remembered. "He discovered the area and harmonic laws, right? But he didn't call them laws at the time, I think. There was another one, too..." She trailed off. That would have to do. Streeeeeetch. Oh, how she longed to fly. |
Cordelia smiled as the professor referenced what Drew had said. That was her brother! Who was also the brother of two other people now, but that was okay. They could share Drew because people could have multiple siblings. Did that make Xiara and Mark her siblings too? She still wasn’t sure about that. Kepler. He was someone who’s name had appeared in her textbook, although honestly she hadn’t paid that much attention to it. ”He, um, contributed to understanding how planets orbit the sun. Like how some planets travel faster than others depending on their distance from the sun.” Retention of any information beyond that was approximately zero. Did she know what exactly those contributions were? Nope. Absolutely not. But she remembered the basic idea of the speed of the planets having something to do with the distance. See, she was trying. Astronomy was not her favorite subject, but she liked the professor and looking at planets and stars and stuff was cool. She did not enjoy all the theory work, however. |
Was it time to don the skates yet? 'Cause this one was ready for some sort of physical activity, since Quidditch couldn't be done anymore thanks to the mist. Anyway, focusing on the lesson. "Newton used Kepler's calculations to calculate the acceleration of planets and his law of universal gravitation." Basically, it was a lot of math that, while it didn't bother Archer, made her RPer's brain hurt. |
The attention was making him sink a little bit into his seat. Hi. Yes, that was him. Mr. Gunter. Unless Professor Sandhu meant Mark because he was also a Mr. Gunter. But alright. Drewett had another small sheepish smile on his face as he looked down on his quill, quietly scribbling notes on his parchment as he listened on. His ears certainly turned pink when Professor Sandhu said he had gotten it a bit wrong too. Kinda awkward being called out in class, by the way, but he realized he should have been more specific with the models. Copernicus did find and create the heliocentric model of the solar system, but it was too basic. Too perfectly circular. Too uniform. Drewett was aware that wasn't how it worked, but he learned today to be more precise with the way he described things. Tidbits of life lessons, of course. Also, do you know what was so lovely about science? When you think something is so precise and accurate, things just go whoosh when you make more discoveries. Evolving. "Kepler p-proposed three laws...the other one was th-the law of ellipses," the Ravenclaw started off, raising his hand and adding to what the older Gryffindor mentioned. But he wasn't about to go on about the three laws, which he knew on a surface level at the moment because he hadn't read of them much lately with OWLs prep taking up most of his free time. It was a lot to process. "Means their orbits are elliptical as opposed t-to epicyclic...and the sun is just one of the focal points. In an ellipse, th-there are two...so... yeah." Right? Drewett ruffled his hair after he shared. |
Well said? The boy returned the smile with one of his own. Well said. Of course, Mr Flamsteed was the one who had mainly taught him about the solar system so he did deserve some credit as well. Should he tell the man the next time he saw him? Or would he not be interested in something like this? Probably the second one. Shaking his head, he, instead, tried to focus on the chalk that was drawing a model on the board and not on Sandhu missing a portrait of Copernicus in her office. Uh. Yeah. Okay. Not concentrating on that at all. Didn't have thoughts about that either. Nope. You do you, Professor. When she asked two questions, Lucas found himself frowning in thought. Describing what Mr Kepler learned was...... difficult. Very difficult. Especially since there was a lot of maths involved and calculations and he always needed to read those parts lots of times to understand them properly. But there was something that struck out to him, only because of how much he tried to read and understand it. So, he tentatively raised a hand in the air. "Uh, see, I think he said that the linear speed and the angular speed of a planet while it's in orbit isn't constant but the area speed is." Pause. He had no idea how that was different in any way but he was going to stick to it. |
| All times are GMT. The time now is 04:42 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
LinkBacks Enabled by vBSEO 3.3.2 © 2009, Crawlability, Inc.
Site designed by Richard Harris Design