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Who…or What…are the
Real Stars
of Harry Potter?
An Interactive Presentation
sponsored by JINA
A Physics Frontier Center
http://www.jinaweb.org/
WHO TEACHES
ASTRONOMY
AT HOGWARTS?
PROFESSOR
AURORA
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 ALSO
THE NAME OF A
STAR IN THE
CONSTELLATION
OF OPHIUCHUS.
WHO IS THIS?
YES…IT IS SIRIUS BLACK
Harry’s godfather
was falsely
accused of
betrayal and
murder…he was
imprisoned in
Azkaban.
WHAT CAN SIRIUS BLACK
CHANGE INTO?
SIRIUS
is also known as ‘The Dog Star’
SIRIUS, ONE OF
ORION’S HUNTING
DOGS, IS LOCATED
IN THE
CANIS 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
According to Greek mythology,
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.
Sirius’s Grandfather:
ARCTURUS
Arcturus follows the
Great 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 is
also 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 Leo
constellation.
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".
Andromeda is the nearest
major galaxy to our own
Milky Way Galaxy.
Sirius’s cousin:
ANDROMEDA
BLACK-TONKS
Sirius’s
grandfather:
POLLUX
Pollux is the
brightest star
in constellation
Gemini
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 you
think 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 CONSTELLATION
also 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 KNOW
JUST WHAT
YOU’LL DO!
SAY ‘GOODNIGHT’
LITTLE WITCHES,
WIZARDS, AND
MUGGLES!