Fifth Years: Lesson Two

Professor Nakamura fiddled idly with a quill as he watched the students enter his classroom. He smiled once he counted them all, and stood up, ready to teach the lesson. “Welcome! We will be continuing on the subject of moons, this time the moons of other planets in the solar system."

Notes once again appeared on the blackboard and Professor Nakamura began reading them aloud, allowing for the students to have time to write it down.

Spoiler: Lecture Content

Enceladus
Orbits: Saturn
Facts: One of the brightest objects in the Solar System, due to its surface of water ice that reflects almost 100% of the Sun’s light. Features an ocean of water under its ice surface. Has the potential for harbouring life, along with large geysers spewing out icy bits and water vapor. The wobble in its orbit is evidence of a liquid interior.

Europa
Orbits: Jupiter
Facts: Just a fraction smaller than the Moon. Possibly one of the smoothest objects in the Solar System, with very few craters. The thick surface features red-brown deposits in a fractured pattern. Also has a possible ocean below its surface. The core has geological activity and produces eruptions of water into space.

Ganymede
Orbits: Jupiter
Facts: Largest moon in the Solar System, even larger than Mercury. Has a molten core that has produced its magnetosphere within that of Jupiter. Has a thought atmosphere surrounding the moon.

Io
Orbits: Jupiter
Facts: The most volcanic body in the Solar System, and Jupiter’s third-largest moon. Has an elliptical orbit, that it is forced into by Ganymede and Europa. The moon is also tidally locked like our Moon, causing incredible forces to bulge out the solid surface by as much as 100m. The result is that the moon is almost entirely molten. Volcanoes erupt nearly 190 miles into the atmosphere, easily filling any impact craters.

Titan
Orbits: Saturn
Facts: Titan is the second-largest moon in the Solar System. The only moon is known to have a thick atmosphere, dense enough that the core is completely obscured by the nitrogen and methane clouds. Lakes and rivers of ethane and methane are filled by rains from the orange clouds. This would be a very hostile place for us to visit.

Professor Nakamura addressed his students once more. “As you are probably aware, that is not all of the moons of the planets of the solar system, but a few examples. Jupiter has 79 visible to telescopes and Saturn 62. For homework I want you to read up on the five largest moons of each planet. Now, in case you thought the lesson was over, let’s use the telescopes and try and locate Jupiter’s five biggest moons, referred to as the Galilean moons.” Professor Nakamura smiled and waited for the students to gather up their supplies to move to the viewing tower. It was a nice, clear night. Professor Nakamura wandered around helping out students and telling them how to tell the different moons apart. When the lesson ended, Professor Nakamura dismissed the class.

---
Roleplay the lesson for full marks.
Homework isn’t required and none of the other moons will be on the exam.
Feel free to godmod Professor Nakamura helping your character locate the moons if you wish.

 

[Savannah Walters]

Savannah was in two minds about the upcoming valentines dance. She knew that she wanted to go to it, that she wanted a night to have fun, to wear a pretty dress and feel good, but she also wanted to focus on her revision and knew that she didn’t feel attraction to people, so she got little out of going. The ravenclaw knew she had a little bit to decide what she was going to do, but not a lot of time. She didn’t want to leave it to last minute though, since she knew that would just end up with her not studying enough or being late and not feeling great at the dance. She grabbed the last bits and pieces she needed for the day and then headed out to class.

Savannah walked into the astronomy classroom and took the same spot in the room as the week before. She glanced up at the professor as the man got started, taking out her notes and books and placing them down in front of her as the professor went over some of the other moons that some of the other planets had. She was making notes, and making sure she got the important elements from the board down and then on the little extra that the professor was saying, but she was glad when the professor just invited them to use their telescopes to locate Jupiter’s moons. Savannah happily did so. Using the telescope with ease until the lesson was wrapped up and she was able to leave the room.

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory didn’t want to leave the dorm. The dorm was nice, warm and safe. He didn’t want to think about Snow, or Cassius or anyone else. His dorm-mates by in large left him alone and he just wanted to be left alone. He just wanted to be alone. The teen didn’t want to go to classes, he knew he was going to fail, so there was really so little merit in him going. The teen did eventually get up, and he did eventually get himself ready for class but at the pace he went he knew he was sure to be late, which would suck because if he was, everyone would look at him, and more so that being left alone, he needed to not be noticed.

Gregory walked into the astronomy classroom and took his usual spot at the back of the classroom. His gaze moved to the professor at vaguely as the man got started. Gregory looked at the board and then took his quill, he didn’t really write much down, just a few points. If the professor was kind enough to put it on the board, he could at least try to get some of it down, even if it wouldn’t help him much. The teen was glad when they were then just allowed to look through the telescope, it was a little tricky, as always, with his glasses, but he tried his best to use the telescope but was very happy when he was finally able to leave the room.

 

[Cassius Styx]

Cassius Styx entered Professor Nakamura's and sat down in the front as per usual. Astronomy wasn't his favorite subject, but he found the practical aspects intriguing - if it was magical. Anything muggle was just bleh. Professor Nakamura greeted them and started the lesson on the moons of other planets in the solar system. Cass took out his parchment and quill, jotting down notes as the professor spoke about the various moons orbiting planets like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. When Professor Nakamura mentioned the Galilean moons of Jupiter, Cass jotted down the names in case he would need them. He had heard about these moons in passing, named after Galileo Galilei who first observed them through a telescope. As the professor instructed the class to use the telescopes to locate Jupiter's moons, Cass let out a sigh.

Grabbing his materials, Cass followed the other students to the viewing tower. The night sky was clear, with stars twinkling overhead, providing a perfect backdrop for stargazing. Cass positioned himself at one of the telescopes, adjusting the lenses with a practiced hand. He focused on Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, scanning carefully for any signs of its moons. After a few moments of fine-tuning, Cass spotted what he believed to be one of Jupiter's moons, likely Io or Europa. He adjusted the telescope further to get a clearer view, noting the moon's distinct features and comparing it mentally to the descriptions he had read. As the lesson drew to a close, Cass felt a sense of accomplishment. He had successfully located several of Jupiter's moons through the telescope and had learned valuable insights about their characteristics and names. Packing up his things, he headed back to his dorm to get a good night's sleep.​

 

[Ruto Vernier-Raison]

The first week back of classes weren’t really different to what Roo expected them to be, even with the added pressure of it being her OWL year. The professors kept reminding them that this year would be difficult, but truthfully Ruto did not believe them. The only thing that would make the year difficult was if they let the burden of classes and homework get to them. At the end of the day, Ruto knew that her grades weren’t going to reflect her future. She simply followed her classmates to wherever she had to be, keen for them to be over.

As Roo entered the Astronomy classroom, she couldn't help but give the professor a small smile in greeting. She didn't mind the first lesson with him and just hoped he would continue to impress her. She took her usual seat and took her writing equipment out, ready for a lecture, but instead the professor had all of the notes they needed on the board. Roo didn't know if this was good practice or not, as the students would be too busy copying everything to learn things for themselves. Roo just pursed her lips and kept quiet as she listened to the professor talk, and was quick to pack away her belongings at the end of the lesson.