Divination Lesson #5: Comets

[Helia Ollivander]

Helia was about to raise her hand when she heard the answer coming from a fellow Ravenclaw. She looked over and smiled, 'Good one!' the mouthed before turning her attention back to the professor.

[Prof. Algernon Moncrieff]

"That's right, Ms. Karew. 10 points to Ravenclaw. Yes, Breburr was a centaur. I've spoken about centaurs before, and we all know how much they watch the night skies, so it isn't at all surprising that they discovered a number of comets. The interesting thing is --- Well, I'll get to that later. First of all, can anyone tell me what ancient peoples thought comets were?"

[Lisa Lycott]

Lisa looked at Erika, impressed. Makes sense, she thought to herself while staring up at the sky dotted with twinkling stars, If any creature knows about stars, it's a centaur.

[mistressofdarkness]

Erika answered once again. Although this time she wasn't too sure of her answer. "Didn't they see comets as omens of bad things to come?" she asnwered uncertainly

[Helia Ollivander]

Helia had read something about this, but the wasn't sure if she was getting centaurs and comets confused with the aztecs and lemurs. She raised her hand and said "Didn't they believe that comets were spirits of their ancestors passed on, coming to tell them of something about to happen?"

[Lisa Lycott]

Lisa heard the two guesses and looked back at the stars with a frown, deciding to answer as well. "I've also heard that they believed comets were supernatural beings." She grinned foolishly to herself, "Or angels."

[Prof. Algernon Moncrieff]

Algernon smiled. "On a roll today, aren't we? That's 20 points to Ravenclaw, and 10 to Gryffindor. Yes, you're all correct. Now, we have a tendancy to laugh at the beliefs of peoples more primative than we are, but in this case they were not altogether wrong. Comets can, indeed, be omens of bad things. As to spirits or angels, well, they were a bit off on that mark, but if you can get the bloody baron to talk, he'll tell you a most exciting story about riding on a comet... but that's besides the point." He laughed, then continued. "Of course, comets can also be omens of very good things. The comets in and of themselves are not negative, they are tied to a certain type of event. But to really understand what that means, we have to understand what comets really are. Can anyone tell me? I mean, from a scientific point of view, not a magical one."

[mistressofdarkness]

((crap! I knew I should've paid more attention in Earth Science! ))

[Lisa Lycott]

Lisa bit her lip, remembering a few of the Muggle studies she had taken outside of Hogwarts before raising a hand. "Gas and ice, if I'm not mistaken," she said, shifting as she was not quite sure of the answer. "The comet's tail is gas, which lights up when near the sun, trailing a bright fire across the sky." Her eyes shone with excitement at the prospect of actually seeing one.

((We learned this right before we were let out for the summer- I'll be embarrassed - and worried - if I get this incorrect!))

[mistressofdarkness]

((yeah... comets were our last unit and of course since it was almost summer i didn't pay a damn bit of attention! now i wish i had... how ironic isn't it? :)

[Prof. Algernon Moncrieff]

"Correct! For a very long time we believe comets were actually balls of fire falling through space. Many people still do. But their brightness is actually caused by starlight shining through the gas of their tails. They are truely balls of ice. 20 points to Gryffindor, that was a tricky question. So, balls of ice. But frozen gasses as well as frozen water. And how are they formed?"


((Yeah, gotta pay attention in real school so you can do well at Hogwarts =P))

[Lisa Lycott]

((lol! Well thats a new one! And mum thinks i'm wasting my time on here :p))

[mistressofdarkness]

algernon said:

((Yeah, gotta pay attention in real school so you can do well at Hogwarts =P))

((pfft! like that's gonna happen! :)

[James McFinnigan]

((OOC: Too bad I don't pay attention in either one! ;D))

[mistressofdarkness]

(( okay okay... c'mon guys... back to business. we're wasting time here...))