A collection – Ramblings of a Student
written by ❊ Sɴᴏᴡ ❊
This is a collection of the Essays and Short Stories that I have written for various classes. Anyone is welcome to look at my work and perhaps take inspiration from it – but no plagiarism! I may also include some of the short stories that I have written outside of homework. Please enjoy.
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
6
Reads
1,201
Astronomy Essay #1
Chapter 1
1. In which I buy my first magical telescope:
I've always loved Astromony, and when I was very little, it was my favorite subject. In fact, I loved it so much that I was quite convinced my destiny was to become a world-class Astromoner. So naturally, my Grandmother bought me my very first Muggle telescope for my seventh birthday. It wasn't terribly high quality (my Grandmother is very poor), but it was something, and I spent many happy nights wistfully gazing at the moon through its slightly blurry lenses.
You can imagine my excitement when my Uncle and I entered Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment to buy me my very first magical telescope. Silly girl that I was, I even thought that the telescopes were made out of real gold, not brass. My Uncle soon disassembled this notion, but I still pretended that they were made out of gold anyway.
2. Discussion of the difference between your magical telescope and Muggle telescopes
Considering that my first telescope had not only been muggle-made, but extremely cheap, imagine my delight when I first looked through this magical and considerably more expensive one. The moon, the stars, the planets spinning above amidst the twinkling constellations. A breathtaking beauty of which I had never witnessed in my entire life. Having never owned an expensive muggle-made telescope, I wouldn't know if this is different or not, but when I looked through the magical lense of my telescope, the planets seemed so very close. I felt quite certain I could reach out and touch them.
The stars were no longer blurry spots in the blackness, they were now hanging right in front of my startled eyes like so many glittering jewels. Indeed, many that I had assumed were stars, distant suns orbitting on their own terms, were planets themselves.
After I had recovered, I found that there was many other fantastic things to be done with my telescope. Including a knob that allowed me to replay the progression of the moon (and other astrological bodies) across the sky, speeding it up or slowing it down as I wished. Much like the Omnioculars used when watching Quidditch games.
One thing I found very different from my previous telescope was that with my new one I could zoom in much closer on various planets, including the moon, allowing me to explore craters and other landmarks with great detail. And thanks to the charms placed on the telescope, it did most of the focusing for me, which made it much easier for me to relax and enjoy the experience.
Yet another difference between Muggle telescopes and magical ones is that one should never look at the full moon with a magical telescope; looking at the full moon with a muggle one has never harmed anyone – as far as I know. Of course, one should never look at the Sun, muggle-made or not.
3. Discussion of safety precautions when using a magical telescope.
• One should never look at the Sun, the full Moon, or a solar eclipse. I assume that Lunar esclipes are unsafe as well.
• One should always put their lens cap back on after use
• Never manhandle your telescope or leave it out
• In fact, one should have a particular safe spot where they always put it back, and personally I like to wrap my telescope with a soft black cloth when I'm done using it.
• Magical telescopes also have the unfortunate affect of making one feel rather queasy after prolonged use. When this happens I slowly withdraw from my scope and close my eyes while taking deep breaths. Sometimes I take a break altogether. Nasty headaches can also be a side-affect of magical telescopes.
• Watch your step when your eyes are trained to the scope, better yet, don't move it all. It would so easy to take a misstep and have an accident, putting both your telescope and yourself in peril.
• No boxing telescopes!
I've always loved Astromony, and when I was very little, it was my favorite subject. In fact, I loved it so much that I was quite convinced my destiny was to become a world-class Astromoner. So naturally, my Grandmother bought me my very first Muggle telescope for my seventh birthday. It wasn't terribly high quality (my Grandmother is very poor), but it was something, and I spent many happy nights wistfully gazing at the moon through its slightly blurry lenses.
You can imagine my excitement when my Uncle and I entered Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment to buy me my very first magical telescope. Silly girl that I was, I even thought that the telescopes were made out of real gold, not brass. My Uncle soon disassembled this notion, but I still pretended that they were made out of gold anyway.
2. Discussion of the difference between your magical telescope and Muggle telescopes
Considering that my first telescope had not only been muggle-made, but extremely cheap, imagine my delight when I first looked through this magical and considerably more expensive one. The moon, the stars, the planets spinning above amidst the twinkling constellations. A breathtaking beauty of which I had never witnessed in my entire life. Having never owned an expensive muggle-made telescope, I wouldn't know if this is different or not, but when I looked through the magical lense of my telescope, the planets seemed so very close. I felt quite certain I could reach out and touch them.
The stars were no longer blurry spots in the blackness, they were now hanging right in front of my startled eyes like so many glittering jewels. Indeed, many that I had assumed were stars, distant suns orbitting on their own terms, were planets themselves.
After I had recovered, I found that there was many other fantastic things to be done with my telescope. Including a knob that allowed me to replay the progression of the moon (and other astrological bodies) across the sky, speeding it up or slowing it down as I wished. Much like the Omnioculars used when watching Quidditch games.
One thing I found very different from my previous telescope was that with my new one I could zoom in much closer on various planets, including the moon, allowing me to explore craters and other landmarks with great detail. And thanks to the charms placed on the telescope, it did most of the focusing for me, which made it much easier for me to relax and enjoy the experience.
Yet another difference between Muggle telescopes and magical ones is that one should never look at the full moon with a magical telescope; looking at the full moon with a muggle one has never harmed anyone – as far as I know. Of course, one should never look at the Sun, muggle-made or not.
3. Discussion of safety precautions when using a magical telescope.
• One should never look at the Sun, the full Moon, or a solar eclipse. I assume that Lunar esclipes are unsafe as well.
• One should always put their lens cap back on after use
• Never manhandle your telescope or leave it out
• In fact, one should have a particular safe spot where they always put it back, and personally I like to wrap my telescope with a soft black cloth when I'm done using it.
• Magical telescopes also have the unfortunate affect of making one feel rather queasy after prolonged use. When this happens I slowly withdraw from my scope and close my eyes while taking deep breaths. Sometimes I take a break altogether. Nasty headaches can also be a side-affect of magical telescopes.
• Watch your step when your eyes are trained to the scope, better yet, don't move it all. It would so easy to take a misstep and have an accident, putting both your telescope and yourself in peril.
• No boxing telescopes!
