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This series travels through Latin America to view ancient temples devoted to astronomical pursuits, and to visit present day observatories.
2023
2014
Travel to Mexico, Colombia and Bolivia to discover how the ancient civilizations of Latin America worshipped and observed the Sun. Among the destinations: experience the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan and a ritual for the Winter Solstice, the Inti Raymi or Feast of the Sun in Tiwanacu, Bolivia.
Explore the likelihood of life on Mars, with NASA’s experiments in the Atacama Desert in Chile, the most similar place to the red planet on earth. Meet a Colombian astronaut who was trained to travel to the red planet, and learn about Curiosity, a robotic mission sent to Mars and more!
As we look at the relationship of Latin American cultures with the Moon, we visit the millenary city of Chan Chan, in the North of Peru, built by the Chimú culture to worship the Moon; see how Aztecs in Mexico measured time by the Moon, and look at the Wayu people in Colombia and their Moon rituals.
Travel to Death Valley, California, to get as close to the atmosphere of Venus as you can on Earth. Then journey into Chichen Itzá, Mexico, to explore the knowledge of Venus held by Mayas and jam to rock group, Sak Tzevul, as they sing about Mayan culture in ancient languages, and more.
Across Latin America, meteors have played a role in culture and folk tales. Visit Campo del Cielo, a region in Chaco, Argentina, the site of a 4,000-year-old meteor shower and learn about the significance that the event has up to this day. We also travel to a meteor crater in Chile and more!
Attend a session of astro-photography in the Spanish Canary Island, and be dazzled by the spectacular images of the Milky Way. Then in the Amazon region of Brazil, an indigenous planetarium works to preserve ancient knowledge of the sky; there is even a road modeled after the stars of the Milky Way.
How did the Universe and life begin? We visit ALMA, the largest radio telescope in the world, where research is carried out to find out the origins of the Universe. In Chile we witness the dance of “cueca” dedicated to the Big Bang; and the ritual of the Mapuche indigenous people, We Tripantu.
How do constellations influence us now and in ancient times? Visit Easter Island in Polynesia to discover how the Pleiades Constellation influences the calendar for local people; at the Strait of Magellan learn how the Southern Cross served as a guide for ancient sailors, and more!
Astronomy or Astrology? Explore Infiernito, an ancient astronomical observatory of the Muiscas people in Colombia. Understand the vision of the skies held by the Tucanos and Baniwa tribes in the Brazilian Amazon. In Chile, visit the Association of Skeptics who challenge the validity of horoscopes.
What is our future relationship with our celestial home? Children in Colombia give us their thoughts on life in other planets and we visit Bonampak, an ancient Mayan site, where a father and son convey the importance of maintaining ancestral knowledge and traditions.
2018
