How does this hoax reflect an overarching theme of mankind vs. nature?
How does the subject of aviation discussed in this story reflect popular interest at the time?
Why would Poe choose to write a story so similar to the Great Moon Hoax and publish it in the same newspaper?
These are all good questions, Kristi! The second one will likely be especially fruitful, because you’ll be able to get concrete info about the status of aviation at the time. The first seems like something you may be answering in large part through your own close reading, but could be associated with more detailed research questions, for instance about what kinds of scientific developments or explorations are happening contemporaneously (people are REALLY into exploring in the mid 19c. Poe has a very weird novel about exploring the South Pole, which, it turns out, is very warm. Go figure). Ditto to the last question. There are a lot of ways you could speculate about that (and I think it’s a really interesting question that you should absolutely take up), but what could you research? Maybe find a source about the history of that newspaper? Or read about public responses to these hoaxes?