The motivation that led to Leonardo da Vinci’s discovery of “moonshine” came from his brilliant mind observing, drawing, and his intense desire to know how things worked. He was passionate, and took time writing down evidence while he performed experiments. He observed while using mirrors and water and drew from different angles to see how light and shadows gave a different perspective. He was good at math, studied geometry extensively, and became interested in astrology. He wondered why the moon was brighter at times and not other times. He made a hypothesis about the moon, guessing it was made of crystal. As he continued to experiment, he saw how the sun reflected off of the earth, and he figured the moon was covered in water. Research says