Astronomy

Teacher: Professor Dileriam Gmy (Professor Gmy)

Books Used: Basic Astronomy

"Is there anyone feeling sleepy?" the kind-looking Professor Gmy asked. Nearly all the students raised their hands, stifling a yawn. Professor Gmy waved her wand and instantly everyone was wide awake.

"I will remove the Awakening Charm once the lesson is over," she promised. "We meet here at midnight every Monday to have the Astronomy practical lesson. We meet here every Tueday to have normal, ordinary lessons."

"The first few terms, or perhaps the whole year, will be dedicated to the solar system. Let me explain all about the solar system. You might want to take down notes."

"The solar system, sometimes dubbed as the sun's family, comprises of the sun and the nine planets. The sun is actually a star, one which is the closest to earth. The difference between a star and a planet is that stars seem to twinkle but planets shine with a steady light, which is reflected sunlight."

"Each planet moves around the sun in a path called an orbit. We say that the planets orbit the sun. There are millions of kilometres between the planets. We compare each planet to our own, earth, so as to see the differences. Four of the planets are bigger than earth, four are smaller. A total of seven planets have moons."

"Planets and moons are not the only things to orbit the sun. There are zillions of chunks of rocks called meteoroids. There is also a ring of much larger bits of rock and metal called asteroids. These are also known as the minor or dwarf planets. Comets, bits of dust and clouds of gas also exist in our solar system."

"We will learn about all of these by your Astronomy exam. Are there any questions? If there are, you may want to take down the answers as well."

A hand shoots up. "What are the names of the nine planets, Mam?"

"Bless me, I totally forgot to tell you! By order of closest to the sun they are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto."

"Do stars give out heat, Professor?"

"Yes, they do. Most light sources give out heat as well. The sun warms the earth. As there are no other questions, I am going to ask you one. What is common among all these planets?"

A hand is raised slowly. "They orbit around the Sun, Mam, and they share it as well."

"Correct! Now, as you have learnt a lot so far, I think I will stop here for today's lesson. We will learn about the Sun next lesson. I have homework for you, to be passed up by next week. Please summarize the information learnt today into an informative essay. Class dismissed!"

With a wave of her wand, Professor Gmy made everyone feel sleepy again.