Harry Potter Wiki
Advertisement
Harry Potter Wiki

The Astronomy classroom is located on the top-most level of the Astronomy Tower.[1] Accessed via a steep spiral stairway,[2] this room is where Astronomy classes, taught by Aurora Sinistra, and practical examinations are held in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[1]

The classroom is surrounded by crenellated ramparts[3] and iron security railings[4] around the edge of the Tower, where students gaze the skies with their telescopes.[1] Astronomical models and telescopes are propped against the ramparts when the classroom is not in use.[4] A door leads into a turret[4] and the steep spiral stairway inside leads below.[2]

The Lightning-Struck Tower, B6C27M1

Severus Snape kills Albus Dumbledore atop the Astronomy Tower

In 1997 Death Eater Severus Snape murdered Albus Dumbledore in this classroom. After his death Snape led the other Death Eaters out and fled the school.[3]

Behind the scenes

  • In the film and video game adaptations of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, this classroom is considerably different from its description in the books, and its appearance in Pottermore. The room is covered by a roof supported by stone archways, and does not offer a complete view of the sky. There is a large armillary sphere and replica of the Earth on the centre of the room. Small decorative stone cherubs carrying celestial bodies and peering through telescopes are perched on the walls. Some glass cabinets located by the door are filled with astronomical devices and celestial models. A short flight of stairs leads to a smaller observatory where a fixed telescope is in place.[5]
  • The classroom is very similar in appearance to that of the topmost level of the Dark Tower seen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film).

Appearances

Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 31 (O.W.L.s)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 14 (Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 27 (The Lightning-Struck Tower)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Pottermore
  5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) - Chapter 25
Astronomy
Astronomy Pottermore
Professors: Satyavati Shah · Aurora Sinistra
Astronomy at Hogwarts: Astronomy classroom · Astronomy Corridor · Astronomy Club · Astronomy department · Astronomy homework meeting · Astronomy reading room · Astronomy Room · Astronomy Stairs · Astronomy Tower
Astronomers: Aurora Sinistra · Copernicus · George von Rheticus · Perpetua Fancourt · Hesper Starkey
Objects: Astrolabe · Globe of the Moon · Lunascope · Moon chart · Orrery · Sextant · Star chart · Telescope
Planets: Jupiter · Mars · Mercury · Neptune · Pluto · Rogue planets · Saturn · Uranus · Venus
Satellites: Callisto · Europa · Ganymede · Io · Moon
Constellations: Aquila · Bartholomeus · Cetus · Crater · Dark cloud constellations · Orion · Ursa Major
Other topics: Black holes · Cosmic ages · Dark energy · Dark matter · Eclipse · Lunar phases · Meteor showers · Space weather · Wormholes
Advertisement