I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.

Several of you have inquired about the kittens in my office: the orange one is Mizar, and the black one is Suha. House points to the first person who can tell me why those names (that didn't hear it from me already.)

They are both quite friendly, but mind your quills if you don’t want them used as toys. In related news, I am currently practiced with ink removal charms, and glad to share the ones I’ve found most effective. Also several that help with more controlled kitten amusement and entertainment.

As usual before exams, I’ve extended my office hours. However, I need to make some firecalls this week in the afternoons. Please knock first if the door’s mostly closed, and it may be a few minutes (not many) before I’m free.

My newts: I’m saving Thursday and Friday for any last questions (your last round of practice theory exams are marked and you can pick them up whenever.) If you don’t come up with anything else, I have more locational magic problems for you, as that seems to be the thing you’re all most worried about.

5th years: for those of you who might be considering the Astronomy NEWT, I’m changing my requirements for continuing in the subject (in favour of more opportunity, rather than less.) We’ll talk more once you’re done with the OWL exams, as the NEWT in Astronomy takes a sharp turn from observation into theory, and it’s rather a different kind of study.

I’ve heard the usual worries about the upcoming exams, and I had a thought to make it easier. I’ve notes for each of my 5th years and 7th years - you’ll get them when we meet tonight or tomorrow.

On those notes, I’ve listed the topics I feel you have securely learned and made notes about any places where some time and attention might lead to useful improvement in your exam marks. But! Before you worry, in all but a very few cases (who already know who they are), it is material that can wait until after the holidays. Most of you are doing solidly well - cheers on all the time and attention you’ve put in over the past years.

Which is to say, much as I think everyone should have their heads in the stars nearly all the time, I encourage you to spend your time away from school on other topics. (I’d say relaxation, but I suspect most of you won’t listen.) We will do further revision together after the holidays, of course, just to make sure you can go into the exams with full confidence.

If you have any questions at all about my field, I will be away from Hogwarts over the holidays, but expect to be responding by journal in a timely but not necessarily immediate fashion - I have some larger projects to attend to. (Parents, of course, I remain glad to address any of your concerns as well.)

First, no assignment, but the Draconid meteor showers peak tonight and tomorrow - and due to the new moon, they should be especially visible. It looks likely to stay clear tonight, but I’m less confident about the rest of the week so come look tonight if you'd like to. (Fifth years, feel free to come up early if you like: I'll have things open around 11.)

Exams
Alas, the forecast for next week is rather dire. Rather than keep everyone up late in the hopes of a clear sky, I am planning to use the projection stones for my exams. This also means you can all get a bit more sleep. Please be at my classroom at 8:55pm on your usual night. My NEWT students, please see below.

Office hours
For those of you with last minute questions, I will have office hours on Sunday afternoon from 2-5:30pm and next Tuesday from 7-8:45pm, as well as my usual Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

My NEWT students
Sixth and seventh years: this year, I’d like to gather you all in my office on the Friday night (the 21st) at 10pm. In lieu of an exam, please be prepared to give a 2-3 minute summary of your topic to everyone present, and to submit a copy of your current research notes. (Full review will need to wait for January, but if you have questions that affect your research or reading plans for the holidays, please ask.) And of course, our Friday gathering will have the usual seasonal round of treats and conversation. We should be done by midnight, to make it easier for you all to get off promptly in the morning on the train.

For those of you who can get to New London, I am seeing if I can arrange a short tour of the Astronomy Guild and its library. Scheduling may prove too challenging, but if you are interested, please let me know which of January 2nd, 3rd, or 4th you might be available (daytimes only.)

Just a reminder that I’ll be up on the tower from six to half-eight or so for those doing their observations of the Draconids. The weather looks a little iffy, but I think we should have a brief run of clear skies in there. Tomorrow, I'll be up for my usual seven to nine office hours.

7ths years: just a reminder that your final project proposals are due on Thursday. Tonight or tomorrow would be a good time for last questions.

1st years: I’ve had several questions about your essays. Don’t worry: these early assignments are designed to give you a feel for my expectations, and give me a sense of where to focus our attention. We’ll be talking further in class about both, and you’ll get detailed notes as well.

Office hours Saturday, 2-5, as well as my usual this week. Do stop by, if you’re worrying about your work so far. Or if you just want to chat. (I promise biscuits, tea and tisane, and maybe other treats.)

5th years: I know some of you are worried already about exams. I expect to have all your charts marked by Friday, but so far I’m not seeing any unwelcome surprises - and a few pleasant ones. (Remember you can always arrange to do practice charts, especially as we take a break for a few weeks for other topics.)

7th years: I’ve had a few questions about the topic list. Again, the list is just to get you thinking. I’m glad to consider any project that can be done and written up in the course of the school year. (Can be practical, theoretical or a mix.) Come talk to me if you’re still confused.

All my NEWTs: With the unusually large jump in size of our 2nd year class (especially as they’re starting the complications of chart work) I could really use another pair of hands or two during our practical sessions until they’re more comfortable with the process. If any of you would be willing to help out, (without shorting yourself on sleep, mind), please talk to me. They meet Thursday nights, or see below.

2nd years who’d like more time and feedback than our hour allows, I’m also looking to set up some additional sessions with the projection stones (or the last hour before curfew, if it’s clear) where we can work in smaller groups: please come to class with some times that might work for you.

If you get the chance, take a look at the western horizon after sunset the next night or two. Mars, Saturn, and Spica are in an unusually small equilateral triangle - about six degrees of each other. One thing everyone can enjoy are the colours: the crescent moon was nearly white last night, Saturn has a golden glow, and Mars is more orange than red. Spica herself is blue-white.

Spica, for those who don’t remember, is a particularly well-matched binary star system, and the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. 6th years, we’ll be discussing Spica in September as part of our look at precession. And for those of you who are early morning risers, Venus is particularly lovely in the hours before dawn this week as well.

I finally got a chance to spend the evening at the astronomy guild hall doing some research, and had a chance to catch up with several professional colleagues while we worked. There are some exciting topics under consideration for next summer’s guild-sponsored projects. Several have pieces that would make a good focus for the NEWT year-long research projects, and possibly open up internship opportunities for next summer. For those of you more interested in locational magics, there are a few possibilities there, as well.

It was quite fun yesterday to see all the different creative ideas for Valentines - such a nice break in the middle of the winter. And hearing the buzz about the Frost Faire - those who’ve seen the latest photos, I can only say they don’t do the streets any justice, from what parts I saw last night.

Seventh years: I’m delighted to say I’m ahead of schedule with comments on your research proposals. They all look quite strong, and there are a couple I’m particularly intrigued by. If you’d like them back sooner than Friday’s class, stop by during office hours.

I’m still feeling rather inspired after last night - the chance to talk to my astronomical peers about a topic near and dear my heart does give a lift. Georg: thanks again for the opportunity, it was delightful, and I appreciate your attention in all the planning. Everyone else: I’ll do my best to make it in April, you’re all right it’d been entirely too long.

I’m particularly intrigued by some upcoming projects, especially one that promises substantial refinements in the astronomy involved in locational magic (such as used in the floo network) and another focusing on the mysteries of star creation. (For older students: several projects are offering summer internships and not all of them require NEWT level work in astronomy. Stop by for details.)

I also got several useful references for my own research, and I’m quite excited to dig into that, now we’ve gotten back into the rhythm of the school term. It seems that errors crept into previous detailed work on stars in Ursa Major. My end goal is deeper study on the origins of those stars, but clearly a corrected survey must happen first.

To my NEWT students and the YPL counsellors:
What a lovely thing just after lunch! Thank you for such a thoughtful present and I especially treasure the notes. (And thank you, for not just leaving it for me: so much more fun to see your faces.) 6th years, now I know why you all couldn’t stop grinning this morning!

Office hours this week
As I was out last night, I expect to be in my office between dinner and curfew tonight (and tomorrow, and Friday) for anyone with questions about your first assignments of the new term (or your exams, if your marks are still mysterious.) Next week, I’ll settle into the schedule we’ve discussed in class.

One last note:
Would the following please stop by my office during any of my office hours, sooner rather than later? You’re not in trouble, I promise. (Diggory and O’Flaherty, same matter I mentioned Sunday).
3rd years: Bradley, Clarriker, Inglebee, Lovegood, Sandoval, Stevens, Zimmerman
4th years: Brocklehurst, Bones, Bundy, Hopkins, Jones, Longbottom, Macmillan, Moon, Parkinson, Perks, Weasley
5th years: Begy, Bobolis, Cadwallader, Coote, Dunstan, Gamp, Jones, Robins, Sloper

Students: I’m delighted to announce a new resource.

As some of you know (particularly my N.E.W.T students who’ve been giving me feedback on some samples), I’ve been working for the past two and a half years on a way to project a portion of the night sky and hold it for study and teaching (steadily, without ongoing need for concentration). I’m delighted to say I’ve reached a point where I believe the work is ready for regular classroom use.

Now, this does not replace our observation time (since you will still need to learn how to use your own telescopes and make your own observations). And, of course, no matter how good or how detailed my created images of the night sky are, they do not contain everything: only what I myself knew at the time I made the image. (And thus, it does not include ongoing or emerging stellar events, comets or meteors, or other things of that kind.)

However, I do think it will be an excellent resource in a number of situtations:
- to illustrate a point in class, so you can make more effective use of your observation time.
- to ilustrate more clearly things that cannot readily be seen with student telescopes.
- to make it easier to study or review before tests (both my own exams, and for O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams).

And of course, it will give us some additional options on cloudy nights without completely losing class time.

This option has limits: it takes me at least half an hour to link a combination of charms and create an image for each area, and it can be much longer for a more complicated or detailed piece of the sky. I plan to add another couple each week, until we have a well-stocked library of examples (focusing first on materials of use for O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students, and then moving on to items covered regularly in the rest of the curriculum.)

Projections can be checked out by permission during hours I’m in my office, and an updated list of projections will be posted by my door each week. My classroom is available for their use, and I’ve also had the house-elves clean out a space on the floor directly below, as the projections are best viewed without distracting items behind them. (You’ll notice a large white sheet hung in a corner of my classroom for this purpose as well.)

If anyone is interested in the theory behind the project, I have an article in the next issue of the Journal of Modern Magical Theory and Experiment that explains some of the details, and I’d be glad to share my copy of the submitted version. Just stop by my office!

First: those students who made it out to see the Leonid meteor showers the last two mornings had a wonderful view. I know how hard it is to get out of a cozy bed to go stand in the cold, but this year's showers were some of the best I've seen this decade, and the clouds weren't too bad.

If you'd still like to earn extra credit for your viewing, tomorrow morning is your last opportunity: I'll have the telescopes set up ninety minutes before dawn. (And I will have some tea ready for when we come back in.)

Second, as a reminder for all students now the weather's getting colder: I do have a box of hats, gloves, and other warm gear available. If you need help with your warming charms, I'm also glad to assist, and I'm sure your house prefects would be as well.

Finally, I'm delighted to announce that we'll be cooperating in a major new research project.

The Ministry is coordinating measurements of particular star movements from various points around the Protectorate, in order to create even more accurate charts and materials that do not rely on non-Protectorate materials. We will be focusing on the four "Royal Stars", which as most of you know are Aldebaran, Antares, Fomalhaut, and Regulus. Our initial work will be with Aldebaran, currently present in the southern sky in the hours before midnight. Our measurements will be compared with those from other locations, to better triangulate movements in space, so it's especially important they be as precise as possible.

Students are not required to help (other than those working on their NEWTs: we'll discuss the schedule in class). However, if you are interested in doing so, please see me for times: I'll appreciate help setting up the telescopes and needed devices, as well as making the actual measurements, and it is an excellent opportunity to gain skill with the tools and methods of astronomy.

This does mean that I will be less available for visits in my office for those with questions. You can expect that I will be up on the Astronomy tower regularly each evening between sunset and the end of the evening's classes. I'll be available for student questions between lectures during the day, or by arrangement. (Or you are welcome to come up to the tower and talk to me: there is plenty of time between the scheduled measurements we need for most questions.)