To put into context, the project objective was to have sketches of the moon (phase, horizon, etc.) for two weeks straight, every night at the exact same time. The following are questions that are to be answered after the sketch part of the project (which has already been completed):
1. Why does the amount of the moon that is lit up change from night to night?
2. Why must your observations be made at the same time every day for this project to work?
3. Why couldn't we continue this project in the same way for a full lunar cycle?
4. Explain the main reason why the position of the moon in the sky changes over the course of a single night. In other words why is the moon in a different position in the sky at 11:00 than it was as 9:00?
5. Explain why the position of the moon in the sky changes from night to night, so that at 9:00 tomorrow it will be at a different position in the sky than it was at 9:00 today.
6. When the moon is in the first quarter phase, half of it is lit up and half is in shadow. What object casts this shadow? In other words, what object blocks the light, leaving half of the moon in shadow? Carefully explain your answer.