Their opinion is ingenious, but dead wrong. We'll find out why. The specific goals of the lab are to understand how the various phases of the Moon arise and why the phases are related to the differences of rising and setting times of the Moon and Sun. Be sure to read and understand pp. 27-31 in the text before starting the lab.
Observations Here are some basic observations of the night sky as a starting point.
The phase of the Moon changes over the course of one month, from new, to waxing crescent, to first quarter, etc., and back to new. Likewise, as the Moon moves away in the sky from the Sun, it gets brighter. To save us all some time, the data we'd collect is reproduced here. Jupiter can be found about 7 degrees above the Moon, which is in the Southeastern sky. With a good telescope, Pluto can be found about 18 degrees to the left of the Moon on the sky.