Third Years Lesson Three

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Professor Zephyrmoon had been enjoying a sausage roll when he heard voices outside the classroom. Hastily cramming the remainder of the sausage roll into his mouth, he swung the door open and ushered the third-year students in, using his wand to slam the door shut behind the last one. Still chewing vigorously, he plopped down at his desk and surveyed the room. With a dramatic gulp and a loud slurp of water, he finally began to speak, “Good evening! Today, we are going to jump right on in with the Zodiac Constellations. Quills and parchment out. Over the centuries, the alignment of the stars and our calendar system on Earth form matching sets - for those of you taking Divination, they'll be a crossover. The twelve signs of the zodiac each relate to one of the constellations based on its position in the sky the night we were born.”

“We have the 13 zodiac constellations in Astronomy. However, in total, the number of constellations in the nighttime sky is much higher. In reality, most modern studies agree on a number around 88. The path followed on the celestial sphere by the Sun is referred to as the ecliptic. Any constellation that meets the ecliptic is called a zodiac constellation." Percival continued, "You should learn the ecliptic. While it's just the projection of our orbit onto the celestial sphere, it's an essential part of an astronomer’s vocabulary. You'll find that the celestial coordinate system we use to locate every star starts from the ecliptic."

"The 13 zodiac constellations are different from other constellations, and not just because of their placement in the nighttime sky. They have a mix of representations of animals, which our word 'zodiac' derives from the Greek for 'Animal Circle'," Professor Zephyrmoon continued. "Now, I will give you time to copy from the material on the board. These are written in order of how the sun passes over them during the year." Percival waved his wand, and a list of the 13 signs appeared on the board with a few details about them.

Spoiler: The Zodiac Constellations

Pisces (Pie-seez): This constellation is represented by two fish. According to myth, Venus and her son Cupid escaped from Typhon by swimming through the sea as two fish. It is usually seen during fall.

Aries (Air-eez): Represented by a ram with a golden fleece, it is thought that it could fly in the sky. It is a small constellation with only two easily visible stars. It is usually seen during the winter months.

Taurus (Tore-us): Represented by a bull, it is a Babylonian constellation. Jupiter turned himself into a bull to carry off Europa, who was the daughter of the King of Crete. It is normally seen in the winter months.

Gemini (Jem-eh-ni): Represented by twin brothers, they are protectors of ships and sailors, who swore oaths by them. Look for the two bright stars, Castor and Pollux, which together form one vertex of the Winter Hexagon. Gemini is normally seen during the winter.

Cancer (Kan-ser): Represented by a crab. It was sent by Juno to kill Hercules, who squashed it with his foot. Cancer contains faint stars. Look with binoculars for the Beehive star cluster, faintly visible to the naked eye. It is usually seen in the spring months.

Leo (Lee-oh): Represented by a lion, this prehistoric constellation is often associated with royalty. It is normally seen during the spring.

Virgo (Vir-go): Represented by a maiden, Virgo is the goddess of farms and harvest, holding a shock of wheat. It is seen during the spring months, as well.

Libra (Lee-brah): Libra is represented by scales (balance) because the Sun was in Libra during the autumn equinox when the Romans chopped off the claws of Scorpius to create this constellation. It's the last of the spring seen zodiac.

Scorpius (Scor-pee-us): Scorpion was sent by Gaia to kill Orion when Orion boasted he would slay all the animals of the Earth. Now, Orion and Scorpius circle each other on opposite sides of the sky. It is seen during the summer.

Ophiuchus (Oh-fee-uke-us): The serpent holder, Oph, ("Gus" for short), represents Aesclepius the healer. Although not traditionally considered part of the zodiac, the sun now is actually within Oph. longer than it is in Scorpius. This is the only zodiac constellation that isn't used as part of our zodiacs. It is another summer zodiac constellation.

Sagittarius (Saj-eh-tair-ee-us): The Archer, a centaur archer named Chiron, is shooting an arrow. This constellation was found by a centaur named Sagittar who claimed it as his own. It is seen during summer.

Capricorn (Kap-rih-corn): Represented by Sea Goat., Pan only partly succeeded in turning himself from a goat into a fish. It is seen in the fall.

Aquarius (Ah-kwair-ee-us): A water carrier and Babylonian constellation, Little is known about the constellation itself except that it is seen during fall.

As he waited, Percival lounged at his desk, idly plucking crumbs from his beard and popping them into his mouth with a contented hum. Once the sound of scratching quill ended, he stood up from his desk and directed the students to the North Tower. Telescopes and desks around the tower were ready for the students use. "Use these items to locate Pisces and Gemini. Locate them without a star chart as you all should be able to find your way across the night sky easily now. Once mapped correctly, you can leave." Percival said and set them off to work.

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For full credit, RP the lesson.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy stifled a laugh when the door to the Astronomy classroom swung open and Professor Zephyrmoon, still chewing, ushered them inside and quickly began the lecture. Teddy took notes along the way. Then the lecture finished and they moved to the tower to use telescopes. Teddy claimed a telescope and set his parchment down on the desk beside it. He adjusted the telescope, scanning the sky for Pisces and Gemini. It took a little while, but eventually he found what he was looking for. Once he had both constellations mapped correctly, Teddy packed up his things and headed back down and glad to get back to the Gryffindor tower to sleep.

 

[Marley Owens-Lee]

Marley waited with the rest of her classmates when she noticed that a few of them had been crowding around the classroom door. It wasn't long before the professor had opened the door and Marley noticed that the professor had been waiting, which made her smile a little. The Hufflepuff took a seat in her usual spot and took out the things she needed for the lesson.

Marley moved her attention towards the professor as the professor got started with the lesson. She didn't mind lecture lessons, but she was a bit bummed it wasn't a trip. But nevertheless, she listened carefully to what the professor was saying as she didn't want to miss out on anything. Marley wrote down as many notes as she could, nodding her head from time to time to show that she understood the content that the professor was giving them. She then copied what was written on the board. After that, she followed the professor to the telescopes. They had to find two star constellations which Marley was excited to identify. It took a bit for Marley to find the Pisces and Gemini constellations, but she had managed to find them, which Marley was quite pleased with and mapped them correctly.

Once Marley had them mapped out, she quickly packed up her things and tidied up her area. She was glad that there was no homework today. The Hufflepuff says a quick thanks and goodbye to the professor before heading out of the classroom with a few of her classmates, and headed towards her dorm.

 

[Callie Cardoso]

Callie walked into the astronomy classroom and took her usual spot in the room. Her gaze moved to the professor at the front who got immediately started on what they’d be covering that day. She took the time to get her notes and books out as the professor’s lecture began and she took down what he said about the zodiac stuff and then about the latter that she got down from the board. It seemed the professor wasn’t too interested in lecturing on those, which she wasn’t that bothered with. She got the information down and then went with the class to the telescopes and took the time to map them out. She was pretty pleased with all she’d done and learnt by the end of the class and she headed out of the room feeling pretty pleased.

 

[Enoch Goldewyn]

Enoch walked into the astronomy classroom and took his usual spot in the room. His gaze moved to the front of the classroom as the professor got started. He took out his quill and his notes as the man told them they’d be covering constellations. The horoscopes, but from as astronomy point of view. Enoch was vaguely getting down what was said and then just focused on getting down what was on the board. He almost preferred that level of teaching, even if he did think the professor exceedingly lazy. Once he’d copied it down the professor then had them go to the telescopes and find them. Map them out. It wans’t that hard for Enoch to do and he was finished in no time at all.

 

[Millie Walden-Cade]

Another Astronomy lesson meant another hour spent with the oddball that was Professor Zephyrmoon. The more time she spent with the man the less she liked him, especially after he had dragged her class to the south pole in their previous lesson. She made her way up to the classroom at the top of the Astronomy tower and mercifully, it was a lecture lesson and they would be learning about the 13 constellations of the zodiac.

Millie took out a sheet of parchment so she could get to work taking notes. She got down the information he told them about the constellations as well some additional information about the meaning of several terms such as zodiac. When they reached the end of the lecture they were given a task to end the lesson, locating pisces and gemini without consulting a star char. It was pretty tricky but Millie just about managed to do it without being the last person in the classroom. Once she had mapped the two constellations she handed it into Professor Zephyrmoon and made her way out of the classroom.

 

[Veronica Walden-Cade]

Veronica entered the classroom, noticing Professor Zephyrmoon hurriedly finishing a sausage roll. As the students settled, the professor gulped down the last of his snack and took a sip of water before starting the lesson. He gestured for everyone to take out their quills and parchment, and then began explaining the alignment of the stars and the constellations based on their positions in the sky on the night they were born. He mentioned the ecliptic and its importance in the celestial coordinate system, emphasizing how it was essential for locating stars.

Professor Zephyrmoon then provided information about the 13 zodiac signs, writing the details on the board for the students to copy. Veronica dutifully wrote down the notes, her mind wandering to more interesting subjects but still managing to focus on the task at hand. After giving the students time to copy the material, the professor directed them to the North Tower.

Once there, they found telescopes and desks ready for use. The students were instructed to locate Pisces and Gemini without a star chart, a task that would test their knowledge and understanding of the night sky. Veronica found herself a telescope and pointed it towards the sky, trying to find the constellations as instructed. It took some time, and she found herself getting frustrated, but eventually, she managed to locate them, with a little under the table help from her sister. As soon as she was done, she packed up her things and headed back to the common room, glad there was no homework for the night.