We won't need our telescopes tonight, because Sirius is the brightest star in the whole night sky, and will be for the next 210 000 years. In fact, it is twice as bright as the next brightest star, Canopus, and twenty-six times brighter than our sun! (However the sun is much closer, of course, so it appears to be brighter, but that is not the case!)

What we see on Earth as one star is actually two, but linked together. This is called a binary system.

'Sirius' is from Ancient Greek 'Seirios' meaning glowing or scorcher. For Ancient civilisations, it was a useful tool for navigation, marked the turning of seasons and even the flooding of the river Nile in the muggle world.

I have saved the most important and interesting information until last.

Constellation: CANIS MAJOR

Alternate name: DOG STAR

I suppose you, class, would not have been around in the times of Sirius Black? No? Well, there is an unlikely link between him and this star. Coincidence? I think not.

Sirius Black was an animagus, and he transformed into a dog. In his childhood, he made friends with James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Their comradeship and fun was legendary. But later on something changed. Peter Pettigrew was bribed by dark forces to betray his friends, causing James' and his wife Lily's deaths, and Sirius' lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban, convicted for the murders of innocent muggles. The truth about his innocence finally came out, but it was too late. Sirius was murdered saving a boy that he loved, the surviving son of Lily and James, Harry Potter. Maybe his legacy really is written in the stars.


*wipes tear from face*

:star: So...

Now, étoiles, I hope that you have enjoyed your first Astronomy class as well as my ideas about Sirius. Homework will be: Find another prominent figure in wizarding history that has a name linked to a star, and tell me in blog form with the hashtag #beauxbatonsastronomyhomework ! Further reading for my students who would like to extend themselves - Harry Potter's biography, put together by J.K. Rowling, and my soon to come blog following up my Sirius theory. Any suggestions for lessons are extremely welcome, I am a rather avant-garde teacher.

:milky_way: Until next time, au revoir! :milky_way:
#namesinthestars

Sirius, the star information from: SkyView, a free app. All theories are my own and not copied from someone else

Hello, it's me Stelluna following up a theory I presented in my Beauxbatons astronomy class yesterday - that the name of Sirius Black came from a star.

Sirius

My reason for this was that there is a link between Sirius' name and the star's name, as well as the constellation, alternate name and Sirius' animagus form having the same theme - a dog.

:arrow_down:
Name of star: SIRIUS

Name of character: SIRIUS

Constellation: CANIS MAJOR

Alternate name: DOG STAR

Sirius' animagus form: DOG

But I am here today, firstly, to give more reasons about why the nature of Sirius' animagus fits with his personality.

Dogs are known as loyal, protective and trustworthy. You could certainly say this about Sirius - putting others before himself even in his final moments. Unconditional, fierce love for his friends is shown from the moment we meet him in the series, and it is what makes his (too short) relationship with Harry beautiful and special.

Sirius also had a playful side, spending his childhood with the Marauders pulling pranks, sidestepping rules and having fun. This is a puppy-like trait which is, as it seems, more prevalent in his childhood.

And that, my friends, is where the character of Sirius came from - The Dog Star.

Moving on to another character that plays a minor role, but still has his name written in the stars.

Regulus Arcturus Black

Regulus was Sirius' little brother, however was sorted in to Slytherin like the rest of the family and immediately became a fan of Voldemort's movement, which he eventually joined.

However, he realised that he had made the wrong decision, so instead of numbly complying with Voldemort's instructions and working just to please his family, he tried to destroy Voldemort. However, he was not able to eliminate the locket Horcrux, leaving it up the Kreacher, and later Harry to finish his job. He decided that this cause was so important that he sacrificed his life just to get the Horcrux.

Regulus is the brightest star in the Leo constellation. The Latin name for the star means 'prince' or 'little king'. Translations from other languages include: the King, the mighty, the great and the centre. But the part that fits for me is the Arabic translation for Regulus as 'the heart of the lion'.

Being currently in the process of rereading the Deathly Hallows, I have realised just how brave Regulus was, and how Griffyndor-like his dying actions were. (Can you spot the lion symbolism)

I know this will be met with some resistance, but I would like to put forward the idea that he was braver, by far, than Draco, because they both had doubts about Voldemort's cause after they had joined the ranks of Death Eaters, however Regulus chose to fight Voldemort and sacrifice himself, whereas Draco did what he was asked with an unconvincing face, jumping at every loud noise (so to speak).

Arcturus is the fourth brightest star in the night sky, meaning watcher or guardian in Ancient Greek. Its position makes it look like it is 'watching over' the neighbouring constellation, the bear. It has also been called 'the keeper of heaven'. It was an important star for navigation for the Polynesians, so was dubbed 'Star of Joy'.

This time around, I am not going to theorise about the significance of 'Arcturus' as Regulus' middle name, but challenge you to do so with the new hashtag #namesinthestars and also to find more stories about the origin of characters' names in the stars. Have fun, pm me if you are out of ideas :wink:.