Astronomy 101: Moons and Planets - Class 1

[stargazer-ellie.livejournal.com]

Week 1 -- September 6: Introduction: Overview of the Solar System, its origin and layout

Syllabus | Class Roster

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

When the class arrived in the newly refurbished attic classroom, Monty Python's "The Galaxy Song was playing and Ellie was humming along. She was wearing a black t-shirt with an image of the Milky Way Galaxy and a "You are here" arrow. There was a stack of textbooks beside her, along with CDs of a an astronomy program.

"Hi!" Ellie said, smiling broadly. "Welcome to Astronomy 101. I recognize some of you from my summer camp workshops and I'm glad I didn't scare you away by talking too much. Today we're just going to go over a brief introduction to the Solar System, and then I'll show you around the telescope. You'll find the Hartmann text is a little out of date since Pluto was just demoted. But most of the facts should remain the same, and even in the chapter on Pluto there is the debate on just whether it should be a planet or not. Also, the program I'm giving you is a great resource for learning to spot constellations and the planets. Have fun with it."

After having the students introduce themselves, Ellie went on to lecture about the formation and layout of the Solar System. "For fun, check out this website," she said as she finished the lecture. She wrote the URL on the board. "You can create your own little Solar System. And make the planets crash into each other."

Ellie beckoned the students toward a door in the back of the classroom. Stair led upward into another room with a retractable domed roof. "This is Maria," she said, sweeping her arm toward the large telescope that dominated the room. "If you come to the observation lab tonight, we can take a look at a few objects. The moon will be full and we can take a look at the Andromeda Galaxy. I hope I see you all there! Observation Lab attendance is ten percent of your grade, but I hope you learn to enjoy it, too."

Comments

Talk amongst yourselves

[stargazer-ellie.livejournal.com]

Pass notes, whathave you.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[untouchableskin.livejournal.com]

Marie sat in the back of the room, careful to keep empty seats around her.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[notafairmaiden.livejournal.com]

Gwynn smiled at Marie.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[untouchableskin.livejournal.com]

Marie gave Gwynn a hesitant smile back. She wasn't sure what, if anything, the other girl knew.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[notafairmaiden.livejournal.com]

Since Gwynn didn't listen to the radio, she had no idea that anything bad had happened. However, Marie had seemed nice over the summer.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[untouchableskin.livejournal.com]

Marie fidgeted with her gloves and tried to pay attention to Ellie's lecture.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[enginegirl.livejournal.com]

Kaylee gave Marie a small smile and waved.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[untouchableskin.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Marie said. "Um, thanks for being there the other day."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[enginegirl.livejournal.com]

"Anytime," Kaylee said sincerely. "How are ya?"

She wondered if that was a silly question.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy watched Marie out of the corner of his eye, and was very proud of himself for not staring outright. He was too afraid to wave hello because he might do something stupid.

Like ask for an autograph.

He flails like the big ol' fanboy that his is.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[enginegirl.livejournal.com]

Kaylee made sure to write that URL down. Making planets crash into each other sounded fun.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[notafairmaiden.livejournal.com]

When Gwynn saw Kaylee, she headed over to her.

"Hi."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[enginegirl.livejournal.com]

"Hi Gwynn," Kaylee greeted. "How've you been? Haven't taked to ya in awhile."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[notafairmaiden.livejournal.com]

"I'm alright, Kaylee. Just getting used to new schedules of classes," she smiled. "How about you?"

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke waved a little spastically at Teddy, then sat down and began taking notes--very definitely not in English.

One section was things he knew about. The other was a growing list of words he didn't recognize. "Website" was underlined.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy waved back at Luke, chuckling to himself.

He took a seat near him. "What's up?"

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"I saw gremlins last night!" Luke whispered back. "They put on a play."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"Gremlins?" He raised an eyebrow at that. "Did one of them bite you? Because I heard they cause people to hallucinate."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Luke." Parker's in a good mood, so she restrains the teasing, to, well. Talking to him. "How are classes going?"

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"Fine," Luke said. "This is my last one for the week. You?"

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Mine as well. Four days to catch up on Bio and Interstellar Relations, or, I don't know. Do something fun." She grinned, stretching out. "Have you been to Caritas yet?"

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[sakuracchyan.livejournal.com]

Sakura took a seat, but her eyes stayed fixed on Alfons. He looked so familiar; just like Edward's little brother, only taller and colored differently... But he'd said his name was Heiderich. What was going on? She tried to occupy herself by idly shuffling her cards.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[modernrocketry.livejournal.com]

It was interesting, really, all he failed to acknowledge when it came to the solar system and everything surrounding it. He was perfectly content to sit on his lonesome, pouring over the images the handouts had to offer. Until, however, he felt that familiar feeling itching at the back of his neck. The eerie sense that someone was watching him in some form. His eyes drifted from the paper, discreetly scanning the classroom for any sign of who it could possibly be. He even turned his head a little, faking an examination of the room itself. Ah, there, a quick glimpse. It was a girl sitting not too far away.

After the events of last week, he almost felt the need to remain in his seat and ignore any stares. Alfons certainly didn't know the girl this time. However, reminding himself that he had made a promise to at least make some friends at Fandom, he turned around in his seat toward her and smiled pleasently. "I couldn't help but notice you were looking at me. You probably heard me introduce myself, but..." He leaned over, offering a hand to her. "My name is Alfons."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[sakuracchyan.livejournal.com]

Sakura made a soft, high-pitched eep, and her cheeks turned the color of an overripe strawberry. Partly because she'd been caught staring, and partly because... wow.

Had Alphonse always had such gorgeous blue eyes?

She frowned. No, that wasn't right... Alphonse didn't have an accent... And his hair was longer! And a darker brown... Now that she thought about it, weren't his eyes a sort of hazel, anyway? She tilted her head and took the German's hand. "Alfons..." she echoed, and held onto his hand for a moment. Alphonse was younger than she was, wasn't he? This boy looked much closer to her age...

"I'm sorry," she said, recoiling her hand. "I'm Sakura." She smiled. "...You look an awful lot like someone I know..."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

[l1ttle-billy.livejournal.com]

Billy doesn't know anyone here 'cept for Teddy, so he just sat and observed.