Who…or What…are the

Real Starsof Harry Potter?

An Interactive Presentation sponsored by JINA

http://www.jinaweb.org/

A Physics Frontier Center

WHO TEACHES

ASTRONOMY

AT HOGWARTS?

PROFESSORAURORA SINISTRA

HER NAME ‘SINISTRA’ MEANS TO THE LEFT IN

LATIN.

DID YOU KNOW THAT MOST OF THE PLANETS OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM ROTATE

FROM RIGHT TO THE LEFT?!

SINISTRA IS ALSOTHE NAME OF ASTAR IN THE CONSTELLATION OF OPHIUCHUS.

WHO IS THIS?

YES…IT IS SIRIUS BLACK

Harry’s godfatherwas falsely accused of betrayal and murder…he was imprisoned in Azkaban.

WHAT CAN SIRIUS BLACK CHANGE INTO?

SIRIUSis also known as ‘The Dog Star’

SIRIUS, ONE OFORION’S HUNTINGDOGS, IS LOCATED

IN THECANIS MAJOR

CONSTELLATION.

SIRIUS is twice as bright as any other star in our night sky.

OTHER ‘STELLAR’ MEMBERS OF THE BLACK FAMILY

Sirius’s Father: ORION

Orion was the son of Neptune and the greatest hunter the world had ever known. He is represented by the brilliant constellation which bears his name.

According to Greek mythology,

Sirius’s Grandfather: ARCTURUS

Arcturus follows theGreat Bear (Ursa Major) across the night sky. The bear in the north comes from the Greek word ‘arktos’ (bear) and our word ‘arctic’.

Sirius’s Uncle: ALPHARD

Alphard is a giant star…so big that if it were in our Solar System, it would stretch halfway to the orbit of Mercury.

Sirius’s uncle: CYGNUS

the Cygnus (swan) Constellation isalso known as ‘The Northern Cross’

CYGNUS – THE SWAN

Sirius’s younger brother:REGULUS

Regulus is Latin for'the little king‘ – it is

the brightest star in the constellation Leo.

Regulus Black had this tattoo of the lion and The Leoconstellation.

REGULUS

Located at the front paw within the constellation LEO (the Lion),the brightest star is Regulus.

It is a triple system of a relatively small blue star, an orange sunlike star and a red dwarf.

Sirius’s cousin:BELLATRIX

Bellatrix is the third brightest star in Orion. Its Latin name means "female warrior".

Sirius’s cousin: ANDROMEDA

BLACK-TONKS

Andromeda is the nearestmajor galaxy to our own

Milky Way Galaxy.

Pollux is the brightest star

in constellation Gemini

Sirius’s grandfather:

POLLUX

Sirius’s great-aunt: CASSIOPEIA

The constellation of Cassiopeia, also known as ‘Queen of the Night’, is very easy to

identify because the stars that are part of it form the shape of the letter W.

We’ve come to the last character!

Who do youthink it will be?

Well, let’s see…

WHO IS THE MEANEST WIZARD AT HOGWARTS?

(HERE’S A HINT: HE LIKES TO GET HARRY, RON, & HERMIONE IN TROUBLE.)

YES…IT IS DRACO MALFOY

His mother was Sirius Black’s

cousin.

‘MAL-FOY’ MEANS BAD FAITH IN FRENCH…

…AND IN LATIN, ‘DRACO’ MEANS A LARGE

SERPENT…A DRAGON!

SO, IN WHICH HOUSE DOES DRACO MALFOY LIVE?

DRACO CONSTELLATIONalso known as ‘Draco the Dragon’

This constellation slithers around the North Star and the Big and Little Dippers… just like a snake!

DRACO CONSTELLATION

NOW, WHEN YOU LOOK UP AT THE

NIGHT SKY, WHO OR WHAT WILL YOU BE

LOOKING FOR?

HMMM….I THINK I KNOWJUST WHAT YOU’LL DO!

SAY ‘GOODNIGHT’ LITTLE WITCHES,

WIZARDS, AND MUGGLES!