fandomhigh | Astronomy 101: Moons and Planets

Week 4 -- September 27: Venus, the Earth's "twin"

Syllabus | Class Roster

Handouts:
Starmaps: North | South | East | West | Overhead

The strains of Holst's "Venus, the Bringer of Peace" greet the class for this session. Ellie hums along before she beings the lecture.

"Venus is the second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. After Earth's Moon, it is the brightest object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of -4.6. As an inferior planet from Earth it never appears to venture far from the Sun, and its elongation reaches a maximum of 47.8°. Venus reaches its maximum brightness shortly before sunrise or shortly after sunset, and is often referred to as the Morning Star or as the Evening Star.

"A terrestrial planet, it is sometimes called Earth's 'sister planet,' as the two are similar in size and bulk composition. The planet is covered with an opaque layer of highly reflective clouds and its surface cannot be seen from space in visible light, making it a subject of great speculation until some of its secrets were revealed by planetary science in the 20th century. Venus has the densest atmosphere of the terrestrial planets, consisting mostly of carbon dioxide, and the atmospheric pressure at the planet's surface is 90 times that of the Earth.

"Venus' surface has been mapped in detail only in the last 20 years. It shows evidence of extensive volcanism, and some of its volcanoes may still be active today. In contrast to the constant crustal movement seen on Earth, Venus is thought to undergo periodic episodes of plate tectonics, in which the crust is subducted rapidly within a few million years separated by stable periods of a few hundred million years.

"The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love, and most of its surface features are named after famous and mythological women.

"Before we go, I'd like to explain your midterm project. It will be due November 8th, and should be an interview with a student from a planet other that Earth. If you're not from Earth, make it a planet other than your own. Ask questions about what type of world it is and what kind of society has developed. There's no set form for this; it's meant to be a learning experience. Have fun with it!"

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Luke was pleasantly surprised to discover that the pen hadn't gone shooting across the room, but was instead just spinning in the other direction.

"I can do this," he said, pleased.

"Evidently," Parker said, looking amused. "Can you do this, and hold a conversation at the same time?"

"Depends on the conversation," Luke said. "This is requiring a lot of concentration still."

The pen was wobbling slightly in the air.

"Okaaay. Hmm." Parker doesn't want him to quit *too* soon, so.... "Clubs. Are you in any?"

"Gun Club, which you know," Luke said with a smile, "and Flight Club, which you should've guessed."

The pen was still spinning.

"True. Any problems in your other classes?" Parker watched him, and the pen, trying to gauge when she could ask something more difficult.

Luke gave her a strange look. It was like she was trying to test him or something. "They're fine," he said, going back to staring at the pen whirling in front of him.

"Got a date for Homecoming yet?"

Hey, if he didn't, she could always find him one. Probably. Maybe.

...and there went the pen, heading straight for Parker's forehead.

"Sorry!"

Fortunately Parker had her arm up in time to deflect it, if not catch it. "Yeah, you need some practice." She chuckled a little, and handed him the pen back. "But you've definitely got the propulsion, if not the steering down."

Heh. She'd thought he'd done it accidentally.

Luke gave her a small smile and took the pen. "I'll keep working on it."

"So? Homecoming? Date?" She grinned. "Indulge me, you almost performed a trepannation with a pen on me."

"I have a date," Luke said. "And I'm going to get to dance with Isabel."

"Cool." Parker's grin relaxes a bit. "She's been working with you on that--?" She waved her fingers at the pen. "I don't want to call it a trick, but I don't have a better word for it."

"Exercise," Luke said, "and yes. I had three balls of paper racing around the room a few days ago."

"Look out, Houdini. If nothing else, you won't starve when you can do that." Parker grinned, stretching out her arms, and giving a little yawn. "So who are you taking to Homecoming?"

Luke had no idea who Houdini was so he gave a noncommittal shrug. "I'm not exactly looking to make money off of this," he said.

He ignored the question.

"No, but it's an important consideration while staying alive to fund a rebellion. Although I doubt anyone's supported one on stage magic." She grinned at him teasingly. "You don't have a date, do you."

"I do," Luke said defensively. "I just don't want to tell you about it."

Parker pouted at him, making big sad eyes at him. "Why noooooooot?"

Hey, never say she can't use someone's own weapons against them.

"Because," Luke said, and that was all of the answer Parker was going to get out of him.

"Occasionally, in weird ways.... you are nothing like your dad. Hunh." Parker raised an eyebrow at him, and twirled a pen on her desk.

Luke raised an eyebrow back. "How so?"

"Nothing. Just makes me wonder about your mom. Aside from how short she must've been. And maybe-- well." She's slipping away from the teasing to genuinely wondering, now, studying him, yesterday's Bio lecture in her head. "You look a little like him, but you sound nothing like him. Force talents, and you like tinkering.... Hmm. Maybe he met your mom at a pod race? Maybe she was a mechanic too?"

Luke was not altogether comfortable with the scrutiny. "I have no idea," he said, shifting in his seat and scrunching up his shoulders. "I don't even know her name."

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