ASTRONOMY END OF YEAR EXAM - TERM 2

Welcome my dear students. It’s time to see what you’ve learned this year through the expected Astronomy End of year exam. It’s what you have been working for all year.
Remember anyone can do the exam even if you have failed to complete the previous classes.

Here are your tasks:



Choose three Harry Potter characters.

Then follow this link: http://www.crazyhoroscopes.com/life-history-generator.php

Fill in the details then post the readings here.

15 points available (5 per reading)

PART 2 – PICTURE OF THE DAY

Below are three photos. I want you to describe them as if you had take them and were presenting it to a class.

Picture 1


Picture 2


Picture 3


15 points available (5 per picture)

PART 3 – STAR LIGH STAR BRIGHT

Choose three stars you like and tell as much as you can about them, its characteristics, background, which contellation belongs too, etc. If you done the previous lesson please now choose two different stars. (200-500 words per star)

20 points (10 points per star)

PART 4 – WHAT’S ASTRONOMY AND WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH IT?

1 – What’s Astronomy? (3)
2 – Tell 3 civilizations that have mostly developed Astronomy in ancient times (2)
3 – Do you think that can be another planet in the universe with the same conditions as Earth, therefore able to bare life? Write between 150 and 300 words about the subject. (10)
4 – Now I want you to think about other classes that are teached in HE. How can Astronomy realte to them? No word count though a few words won’t get you full marks. (10)

25 points available

please don’t forge to site your sources and no copy/paste.

That’s it my dears. You may start. You have until February the 14th to finish. Needless to say the best student will get to the Hall of Fame. Good luck.

Part 1

Ginny Weasley:

In the name of our Lord, (Gloria In Excelsis Deo), let it be known on this, the 10th day, of the 2nd month in the year of our Lord Anno Domine 2007, his most Royal Highness the Goblin Prince - Victoria, Vires Et Honor, Rex et Imperator - for the greater wealth and glory of the Crazy Horoscopes empire, presents to you, Dei Gratia, the grand history of the life of Ginny, of the Weasley family.

You were born into royalty on the 11st day, of the 8th month in the 1981st year of our Lord Anno Domine, to Princess Fanny CameltoeAcid, dear and beloved wife of Prince Icabod GolfballArse

When you were 4 years old you took a dump in your Father's slippers and were punished by being covered in lard and yo-yo'd from a motorway bridge using a steel cable made from copper.

When you were older you met an octopus called "Timmy" who you became best shopping buds with. You often shopped at local dept stores for pieces of wood and plastic gherkins. One day Timmy spontaneously combusted after you fed him a rancid orange, and you were all alone again. After several years you decided you'd had enough and that it was time to move on in life.

One day you decided to build an alien from oatmeal and chewing gum, and breathed life into it using an old vacuum cleaner. The alien became your best friend and you did lots of cool things together such as put deep fried turnips in the freezer and sell them to gypsies. The alien spontaneously combusted one day which made you very sad and lonely.

Your current life involves helping people build plastic monkeys from tree trunks, eating them whole and then barfing them on their Grandmothers. This gives you a special fuzzy feeling inside and you are immune to sperm whales as a result.

And tis with the deepest regret and sympathies, that I endeth this historical account, as we approacheth the current day. May the Lord God grant thee a long life and may it be as fruitful as your past historie.

Harry Potter:

In the name of our Lord, (Gloria In Excelsis Deo), let it be known on this, the 10th day, of the 2nd month in the year of our Lord Anno Domine 2007, his most Royal Highness the Goblin Prince - Victoria, Vires Et Honor, Rex et Imperator - for the greater wealth and glory of the Crazy Horoscopes empire, presents to you, Dei Gratia, the grand history of the life of Harry, of the Potter family.

You were born into a respected household on the 31st day, of the 7th month in the 1980th year of our Lord Anno Domine, to Miss Lucinda CameltoeAcid, dear and beloved wife of Mr Icabod GruffConkers

By the time you were 9 years old you had learnt how to knit submarines from mouldy old pieces of cheese and would often sell them to the other kids.

When you were older you went into the manure and marzipan business. You were the sales rep for a large company who sold marzipan and manure to travelling minstrels and toothless people. It was believed to be a common cure for ailments such as Chimpitis and Beetlechops. After several years you decided you'd had enough and that it was time to move on in life.

You then found an old bottle in your attic. You rubbed the bottle in a pathetic attempt to see if a genie lived inside it. Amazingly enough a puff of smoke came out of the bottle and turned into a pink woodpecker. The woodpecker told you his sad story about being eaten by sharks, then granted you a bag of beans before doing the splits and disappearing.

Your days are now spent mashing up potato chips and otters noses using a blender and drinking the liquid in hope you will become like your Father and wear pink panties and a bra made from gelatine.

And tis with the deepest regret and sympathies, that I endeth this historical account, as we approacheth the current day. May the Lord God grant thee a long life and may it be as fruitful as your past historie.

(Let it be forever, for eternity) Esto Perpetua In Aeternum

Ron Weasley:

In the name of our Lord, (Gloria In Excelsis Deo), let it be known on this, the 10th day, of the 2nd month in the year of our Lord Anno Domine 2007, his most Royal Highness the Goblin Prince - Victoria, Vires Et Honor, Rex et Imperator - for the greater wealth and glory of the Crazy Horoscopes empire, presents to you, Dei Gratia, the grand history of the life of Ron, of the Weasley family.

You were born into a rich household on the 1st day, of the 3rd month in the 1980th year of our Lord Anno Domine, to Mistress Felicity ArseRot, dear and beloved wife of Colonel Icabod GruffConkers

By the time you were 6 years old your Mother used to make you dress up as a pink moose and dance on a hot metal plate, in exchange for food and toys.

When you were older you met a dragon called "Uncle Fester" who took you into his cave and kept you as his own child. you stuck to walking around bottomless as having a conversation with him burnt all your pants due to his fiery breath. You left his cave after a few years when an argument broke out between you two about who has the prettiest kidneys. After several years you decided you'd had enough and that it was time to move on in life.

You then found an old bottle in your attic. You rubbed the bottle in a pathetic attempt to see if a genie lived inside it. Amazingly enough a puff of smoke came out of the bottle and turned into a pink woodpecker. The woodpecker told you his sad story about being eaten by sharks, then granted you a bag of beans before doing the splits and disappearing.

Your current way of life is spent drawing minotaurs on green paper and ripping them to shreds and urinating on the pieces for fun. You run a help group for people who have this mental disorder.

And tis with the deepest regret and sympathies, that I endeth this historical account, as we approacheth the current day. May the Lord God grant thee a long life and may it be as fruitful as your past historie.

(Let it be forever, for eternity) Esto Perpetua In Aeternum

Part 2

1. This is one of the best pictures I have ever taken of the Horsehead Nebula. A nebula is a huge swirling mass of gases and dust and other small particles. Eventually, under its own gravitational pull, it forms a spherical shape that uses the gas, hydrogen, to fuel its “life”, otherwise known as a star. The Horsehead Nebula is in the process of forming a star, but it is named so because it is in the shape of a horse head. In time to come, it will no longer look like this, but for now it remains, the Horsehead Nebula.

2. An eclipse, especially a full solar eclipse is a rare and wonderful event. I was able to snap this picture just at the right moment when the moon came bang in between the Earth and the Sun. Beautiful, isn’t it, the Diamond Ring stage? I always thought so…It’s an amazing coincidence of nature that the ratio of the distance of the moon from the earth to the diameter of the moon, is exactly the same as that of the sun! So it looks as though the moon is the same size as the sun, but in reality, the sun so much bigger!

3. This picture shows a spiral galaxy, similar to our Milky Way. A galaxy is made up of millions of stars, nebulae, and other forms of a star in different stages of its life. Can you imaging that each star has the potential to have a solar system just like ours? For so long, we have searched for life on other planets, but our resources are so small that search is futile. In terms of the research that has already been done and the exploration of places we have covered as Earth beings, we have just opened out back door and looked out into the garden. Amazing isn’t it?

Part 3.

Star 1: Sirius

Sirius is a star that is part of the Canis Major constellation. It is otherwise known as the North Star because it was used to navigate ships at night before the compass, as it is the brightest star in the night sky. It is seen in most parts of the world and in the northern hemisphere especially. Sirius, also known as the Dog Star or the Pole Star, is also one of the closest stars to our sun. I chose Sirius because of its connections with Harry Potter Verse, and the dozens of mythological stories about it. For example, in Hindu mythology, it is called Dhruva. Dhruva was a young boy, son of a great king. But his elder brother always got all the attention. One day, after being pushed away from his father’s lap for the hundredth time by his elder brother, Dhruva went into the forests (still a boy) as a hermit, and started meditating. He eventually stopped eating and breathing, as he was so concentrated on God to try and bring him some love from his father. When his prayers were answered by a heavenly voice, he asked for a place in heaven where he would stay forever and never be moved. Thus, he because Dhruva, the North Star offering love and guidance for those who are lost and staying in one place never to be ignored or pushed aside.

Star 2:

Betelgeuse is another star that amuses me a lot, which is why I picked it to write about. Betelgeuse is part of the constellation of Orion. In fact, it forms Orion’s hand. Betelgeuse is so named because of its position in the constellation. In Arabic, it was named yad-al-jauza, or arm of the central one. Over time, the Arabic inscription of y changed to that of a b, so it because known as bat-al-jauz. During the Renaissance, it was changed even more to form the name Betelgeuse, or even more twisted, Beetle Juice. Betelgeuse is quite an old star, as it is already dying and reaching its red super giant stage. This means that the layers of gases are slowly puffing away as the star expands and contracts under its own changing mass and gravitational pull. Scientists believe that it will soon undergo a supernova transformation to make a white dwarf as it is in its later stages of life. However, as it undergoes the supernova transformation, it will probably shine much brighter because of the energy it is releasing. It is supposed to shine much brighter, about 10 000 times brighter, that it does now, similar to the brightness of a crescent moon.

Part 4.

1. Astronomy is the study of the universe and its components. It is the study of the movement of stars and the space of our solar system and beyond. A lot of it is speculation based on what we already know to be true.

2. Development of Astronomy has come mainly from the east: the Chinese, the Arabs and the Hindus, although some progress had been made by the Egyptians, and progress continues to be made by the Western World.

3. Considering that there are millions of galaxies in the universe that is continually expanding, and that each galaxy is made up of billions of stars, most of which have planets orbiting them, I think that it is more than likely, even certain, that there is at least one planet harbouring life such as ours. Statistically, it is a given, but as I said earlier, with our resources, it is difficult to find out. To be able to fully explore space in person (impossible), we would have to build a mini Earth with our own fuel source, food source, ecosystem to provide oxygen, get rid of carbon dioxide, and have enough people on board this earth-like ship to be able to reproduce and teach the young to take care of the ship, and what the want to find, who would be able to teach their young, etc, etc, etc…It is exhausting to list it all, and I believe it would be an even bigger headache to try and do it all. I don’t think, unless they come looking for us, that we will ever meet any life other than that on earth.

4. Astronomy, is very much as subject in its own right. Other classes can aid astronomy, such as charms, transfiguration and even potions. These classes can make the study of space easier because of the skills learnt in those classes. Astronomy gives an understanding of how extraterrestrial occurrences, such as the orbit of the moon, can affect the creatures (werewolves and others) on earth, with would help in DADA and CoMC classes. Other, more down to earth and less practical classes such as runes, HoM, Arithmancy and ARCW are not really affected by astronomy, but of course, any skills can be transferred to anything!


Sources: wikipedia.org, the site that you gave us for part 1.

Part One

Percy Weasley!
In the name of our Lord, (Gloria In Excelsis Deo), let it be known on this, the 14th day, of the 2nd month in the year of our Lord Anno Domine 2007, his most Royal Highness the Goblin Prince - Victoria, Vires Et Honor, Rex et Imperator - for the greater wealth and glory of the Crazy Horoscopes empire, presents to you, Dei Gratia, the grand history of the life of Percy , of the Weasley family.

You were born into a noble family on the 22nd day, of the 8th month in the 1976th year of our Lord Anno Domine, to Lady Annabel ArseGrapes, dear and beloved wife of Lord Charles BluePlums

When you reached the age of 8, your Mother enrolled you on an intense training course where you learnt how to hover by standing on your head and blowing air out of your nose. This was to help you escape crocodile attacks.

When you were older, you spent a lot of time around cardboard and tins of orange paint. You would swallow the paint and squirt it out of your rear end. You would then roll around in it whilst screaming "Shiver me timbers!" whilst people watched and threw bananas at you. After several years you decided you'd had enough and that it was time to move on in life.

One day, you somehow became addicted to smearing Possum fat all over you and dressing in a pink moose outfit whilst running into the streets and screaming bloody murder. After being chased the cops for the 2000th time you got bored and decided to open a business where you made money from people who wanted to change the colour of their spleens.

You now live with your Grandmother where you clean out her mouth with a toilet brush in exchange for being allowed to live with her. She often glues to the wall and throws bricks at your chin to show you how much she loves you.

And tis with the deepest regret and sympathies, that I endeth this historical account, as we approacheth the current day. May the Lord God grant thee a long life and may it be as fruitful as your past historie.

(Let it be forever, for eternity) Esto Perpetua In Aeternum

Fred Weasley!
In the name of our Lord, (Gloria In Excelsis Deo), let it be known on this, the 14th day, of the 2nd month in the year of our Lord Anno Domine 2007, his most Royal Highness the Goblin Prince - Victoria, Vires Et Honor, Rex et Imperator - for the greater wealth and glory of the Crazy Horoscopes empire, presents to you, Dei Gratia, the grand history of the life of Fred, of the Weasley family.

You were born into a rich household on the 1st day, of the 4th month in the 1978th year of our Lord Anno Domine, to Mistress Annabel MooseLumps, dear and beloved wife of Colonel Icabod ArseNoodles

When you were 9 years old, you had an operation on your left eye which permanently left you with a condition that makes you glow in the dark and plop ice-cubes from your rear when frightened.

As you grew older you became more skilled at morphing into a laxative and spraying turnip juice at office hags from your nipples. You worked as a jester in a local milk bar, entertaining doctors and lawyers by inserting large objects up your anus, including helicopters and cruise ships. After several years you decided you'd had enough and that it was time to move on in life.

Before long you decided it was time to set fire to your chin and replace your kidneys with plastic spoons. This made you extremely agile and you were able to focus more on important issues such as the colour of beans and the whiff of cheese. You spent a long time researching various dog biscuits and fighting for lost causes such as painting your future Mother-In-Law purple.

You now live in Southern most Antarctica where you teach wild animals how to dance like Britney Spears and hold regular pole-vaulting events to entertain the local wildlife. Your nose has fallen off due to leprosy.

And tis with the deepest regret and sympathies, that I endeth this historical account, as we approacheth the current day. May the Lord God grant thee a long life and may it be as fruitful as your past historie.

(Let it be forever, for eternity) Esto Perpetua In Aeternum

Rubeus Hagrid!
In the name of our Lord, (Gloria In Excelsis Deo), let it be known on this, the 14th day, of the 2nd month in the year of our Lord Anno Domine 2007, his most Royal Highness the Goblin Prince - Victoria, Vires Et Honor, Rex et Imperator - for the greater wealth and glory of the Crazy Horoscopes empire, presents to you, Dei Gratia, the grand history of the life of Rubeus, of the Hagrid family.

You were born into a rich household on the 6th day, of the 4th month in the 1928th year of our Lord Anno Domine, to Mistress Valerie BeefCurtains, dear and beloved wife of Colonel Herbert ArseNoodles

When you were 5 years old, you decided to paint a turnip dark green and throw it at your father whilst he was dressed as a moose, dancing in the living room. It hit him on the spleen and as a punishment you were forced to eat rancid potatoes using a rusty spoon.

When you were older, you spent a lot of time around cardboard and tins of orange paint. You would swallow the paint and squirt it out of your rear end. You would then roll around in it whilst screaming "Shiver me timbers!" whilst people watched and threw bananas at you. After several years you decided you'd had enough and that it was time to move on in life.

You decided to change things and do something good for cats. You invented a special computer which allowed them to send each other emails and play games. They operated the mouse with their paws and typed with their noses. This was very successful until one day all the computers morphed into walruses and threw tomatoes and rotten eggs at their feline owners.

You now live in Southern most Antarctica where you teach wild animals how to dance like Britney Spears and hold regular pole-vaulting events to entertain the local wildlife. Your nose has fallen off due to leprosy.

And tis with the deepest regret and sympathies, that I endeth this historical account, as we approacheth the current day. May the Lord God grant thee a long life and may it be as fruitful as your past historie.

(Let it be forever, for eternity) Esto Perpetua In Aeternum

Part Two

1. This image even surprised me when I saw how brilliantly it had come out. It is of course, a picture of a nebula, and the curious figure in the center seems to be a characteristic of this horesehead nebula. This space occurrence is part of the Orion constellation, just below Alnitak. 1,500 light years from Earth, this is sort of mysterious and a real wonder on how I got this. Hydrogen gas, is the red gas that omits from it, and everything is just so wonderful.

2. Holy Moly! A solar eclipse! I totally forgot about this one! Well A solar eclipse is when the moon blocks the sun. This is rare as it needs to happen in a new moon from Earth. It can be quite scary for some people who don't know what is going on because there are a few minutes of sudden and complete blackness.

3. Now, this next one is also interesting. It is a spiral galaxy, not unlike our home the Milky Way. To be classified as a spiral galaxy, the space-thingy, has to have A considerable total angular momentum, and to have a central bulge, surrounded by a disk. (from Wikipedia) They are called spiral galaxys because of how the stars extend from the central bulge. Other spiral galaxies are Andromeda, Whirlpool, and SunFlower.

Star Light, Star Bright

I don’t think I did this for the star light star bright one, if I did, I swear I didn’t use it. Okay, I chose to do our Sun, the central star at the center of our solar system. It alone accounts for more then 99% of our solar systems mass, and along, with the Earth, and the other planets, space dust, asteroids, and other UFO’s revolve around it. It is the main factor on Earth, giving us food, via photosynthesis, and controlling climate and weather. It is also called Sol, or Helios, which are its Latin and Greek names, respectively. Most of the Sun’s mass is hydrogen, 74% to be almost exact, and the rest is made up of helium, and traces of other elements and gasses. It happens to be a third generation star, whose composition may have been caused by shockwaves from a supernova. The sun is thought to be about 4.57 billion years old. It is a main sequence star and will continue to be for about 10 billion years. It is thought that the sun isn’t big enough to explode as a supernova, so it will be a red giant and while not thought to be likely that it will engulf the Earth, it is thought that it will push out its orbit but not before it boils all the water and the atmosphere escapes into space.

For my second star I have chosen Regulus, which in the Harry Potter books, is Sirius’s little brother. In the constellation Leo, it is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It is considerably far away though, 77 billion light years away. Interestingly enough, it’s name means Prince in Latin. It can also mean, the heart id the lion in Arab. It is a lot larger then the Sun, 3.5 times bugger to be precise. Regardless of it’s size, Regulus is a relatively young star, only about few million years old compared to the billion years of other stars. It is also spinning fairly rapidly, 15.9 hours of revolution. If it were going 16% faster no amount of gravity would be able to hold it together. It has a pair of tiny and fainter companions called binary stars. In the Stregheria religion he is a fallen angel and guardian of the southern gate. It is considered the last, first magnitude star in the sky. The closest it ever gets to the sun is on August 23rd each and every year. It’s poles are much hotter, and brighter then its equator which is sometimes considered unusual. Again, I hope I didn’t do this one last time.

What is Astronomy?
1. Astronomy is the science of celestial objects
2. Three civilizations that developed astronomy in ancient times are Babylonia, Persia, and Egypt, among many others
3. I think it is possible but unlikely that there is another planet out there available to render life. I mean, I guess anything is possible, but I guess, I have more faith that there are millions of people in the world that are totally and completely obsessed with finding other forms of life. And of they did have life wouldn’t they try and find us? We have so many satellites and space probes out there, probably to many to count, that we probably would have either known by now, or been spotted looking by the other planet of life. But then again, the universe is so vast that it is really quite possible that there are conditions for life on another planet, and maybe the life source doesn’t need the same conditions we do. So I think this one could go either way.
4. Astronomy can most effectively be linked to Divination I suppose. They do have a whole branch of astrology that goes over the trackong of stars and plantes and the postions they are in at certain times and what that might mean for the future. Potions also might be related because of full moon cycles and other celestial events some potions need in order to mature.

I used Wikipedia, the Lexicon to find the birthdays, the site you gave us, and thats it.