02x06 - The Andes

[bunniefuu]

[upbeat music playing]

Hey, everybody. Let's G-O go!

♪ With ABC, --, and Do-Re-Mi ♪

♪ There's endless people and places to see ♪

♪ From the classroom they can search and explore ♪

♪ With every adventure you learn more ♪

♪ They visit countries near and far ♪

♪ They love to learn wherever they are ♪

♪ They see the world in a brand-new way ♪

♪ They make great new friends every day ♪

♪ ABC, --, and Do-Re-Mi ♪

♪ Come along and you will see ♪

♪ The more they travel, the more you know ♪

♪ Get ready, let's G-O go ♪

[crickets chirping]

Ahh... We should spend more time looking up at the sky.

[chuckles] You're right. The stars, the moon--

-[Do-Re-Mi] ABC? -What're you looking at?

Oh, everything!

There's so much to see!

You can even make pictures by connecting the stars.

Like a dot-to-dot.

[ABC] You're right! It's pretty amazing.

[--] There's Orion!

See it? The great hunter with his club and shield?

We really should learn more about the stars and the moon,

and all the other things in space.

Ooh! That's called astronomy!

I love astronomy!

You're right.

We should talk to an astronomer.

That's a scientist that studies space.

Here's a fun fact.

Did you know that long ago people used astronomy

to help them decide when to plant crops?

Just by looking at the stars?

How?

I'm not really sure.

Are the two of you thinking what I'm thinking?

[all] Let's search it!

[ABC] So let's search ancient astronomy.

[--] Machu Picchu...

Gesundheit!

[laughs] I didn't sneeze!

Machu Picchu's the name of an ancient city.

It was built by people called the Incas.

[--] Machu Picchu is on the continent of South America,

in a country called Peru.

[ABC] There it is!

In those humongous mountains.

They're called the Andes.

It's a mountain chain that goes

all the way down South America.

What are we waiting for?

Let's G-O go!

[ABC] Is that a rabbit?

[--] Actually, it's a viscacha.

The Andes sure have a lot of interesting animals.

Ooh! Up ahead! There's a sign for the Inca Trail.

That leads to Machu Picchu.

[--] Ready, everyone?

-[ABC] Ready! -[Do-Re-Mi] Ready!

[phone vibrating]

-[boing] -[all grunt]

Thanks for the soft landing, whatever you are!

It's a guinea pig!

[chuckles] I think he likes you!

Aw, you are so cute.

[bird squawking]

That's an Andean condor.

It's one of the largest birds in the world.

I read that they can fly as high as , feet.

That's as high as a lot of airplanes.

I sure wish I could fly up there.

ABC? ABC!

We'll be able to see Machu Picchu

at the top of these stairs.

Who's ready?

Right! Ready.

[all grunting]

Machu Picchu, here we are!

We are? Where?

Maybe this is why it's sometimes called the Lost City.

Actually, that's because for a really long time

when no one lived here, almost nobody knew it existed.

Whoa, look around!

The surrounding mountains are awesome!

[ABC] Awesome is right!

[--] The Andes started forming

around million years ago

and get this--

they're still growing!

What'ya mean, they're still growing?

They're still getting taller.

Mountains can grow, just like we do.

It just takes a lot longer--

millions and millions of years.

[gasps] Look! There it is! Machu Picchu.

[ABC] Wow! Look at that!

[--] More than years ago,


that was a busy community with temples,

homes, markets, and palaces!

Come on! Let's go find that special building

the Incan astronomers used to study the stars.

Wow, a llama!

Easy there.

So, you like grass, huh?

Here you go.

[Do-Re-Mi] Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Whoa!

Look at that big fluffy llama!

All gone.

But there's more where that came from.

Careful, we call that one Spits.

How'd he get that name?

-[spits] -Oh!

Mystery solved!

I'll take that as a thank you for the grass.

ABC, in Machu Picchu?

Is your adventure here

going to be made into one of your books?

Maybe I can be in it.

"Edgar, the scientist who studies ancient cities!"

You must be an archeologist.

Muy bien! You are correct.

Gracias.

Can you help us with something?

We wanna learn how Incas used astronomy to plant crops.

Absolutely! I've studied that very question.

Come on. You need to see the Temple of the Sun.

[spits]

The Incas didn't write anything down,

but we've been able to learn about them

through stories that have been told over many years.

What kinds of stories? I love stories!

Stories about what life was like in the Incan Empire.

We've also learned a lot by studying

what's left of Machu Picchu now, like this fountain.

Ahh!

[Edgar] The Incas actually changed

the direction of a mountain stream

so that it ran through the city,

giving fresh water to everyone who lived here.

And it's still flowing today!

[Edgar] Sí. The terraces, the running water--

the Incas were excellent builders.

Wait till you see what's next.

Is this where the Incas came to look at the stars at night?

No. They did that on top of that mountain,

where nothing was in their way of seeing the full sky.

What did they look at from here?

This is one of the places

where they looked at the star we see during the day!

You mean the sun!

But you should never look right at the sun.

That's true! It would hurt our eyes.

We don't know if the Incas knew that,

but we do know they built this special building--

the Temple of the Sun--

with this very important widow.

They were very careful to build the window the right size,

and turned exactly in the right direction.

But why?

[Edgar] It has to do with sunrise.

Every day, the sun comes up over that mountain.

But it does not rise in the exact same place every day.

-It doesn't? -No.

Depending on the time of year,

it moves a little every day in one direction or the other.

The Incas knew this,

so the location and size of the window was very important.

There are only a few days each year

when the rising sun shines through that opening.

Any guesses?

Was it around the beginning of summer?

Very good, --.

Why was that time so important?

[--] Because it was during summer

that they grew their crops.

Crops need lots of sunlight, and in the summer,

the sun shines for more hours of the day

than in any other season.

[Edgar] So, when the sun shone through the window,

the Incas knew it was time for planting.

But what about the stars at night?

What did they tell the Incas?

The stars told when summer was coming, too.

There's a group of stars called the Pleiades,

and every year, a few weeks before summer,

that group of stars appears.

[sighs] I just love astronomy.

Then, I know someone who will love you.

She can show you stars in a way that you've never seen before.

This is gonna be great!

[crickets chirping]

[owl hooting]

Oh, if only stars could talk.

ABC, Do-Re-Mi, and --!

Welcome to La Silla Observatory.

I'm Catalina, and this is Stardust.

[barks]


[all] Hola!

I hope you've come

to see the stars!

[ABC] Whoa.

[Do-Re-Mi] Edgar was right.

[--] I've never seen so many stars before.

Is it because we're at the top of the mountain

so we can see the whole sky?

Yes, there are no tall trees, the air here is very clear,

and in this part of the Andes

there are fewer clouds to block our view.

It also helps that we're very far away from the city lights.

At night, lights from buildings,

cars, and roads light up the sky,

making it difficult to see the stars.

[--] That's what scientists call light pollution.

It's hard to take your eyes off the stars.

They're so beautiful.

Want a closer view?

Inside these buildings are powerful telescopes.

Are you familiar with Orion?

-Uh-huh! -Yes!

Well, you've never seen him like this before.

Whoa!

You gotta look!

It's the most fantastic thing ever!

-[--] Whoa! -[Do-Re-Mi] Whoa!

What you're looking at is this area right below Orion's Belt.

Isn't it spectacular?

[Do-Re-Mi] It looks like a llama

coming through the clouds of Machu Picchu.

The astronomer who discovered it more than years ago,

Williamina Fleming, thought it looked like a horse's head,

but I also think it looks like a llama.

Her work inspired me to become an astronomer.

The only way we could get a better view

is if we were on the space station.

The space station?

Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?

[laughs] Of course he is, and so am I.

Oh, boy! This is amazing!

[ABC] Now it's time to sing along!