- *Extra* Movie Discussion: Down to the Earth's CoreLink visible for attendees
(Note that this extra movie discussion is on a Wed instead of the usual Sunday)
This documentary takes us on a non-fictional journey to the center of the Earth, as well as back in time through layers of Earth accumulated from its past. Although the film is 10 years old, it’s still relevant -- and the best one I’ve found on this topic.
Join us as we plunge into the bowels of the Earth. After digging below the surface, a fossilized forest is found inside a coal mine, and vast caverns are explored. Around 550 meters inside the Earth’s crust, and back in time, a thin layer of extraterrestrial iridium appears that came from the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. And at 600 meters down there’s rust from the Great Oxidation Event more than 2 billion years ago.
Deeper explorations through rocks studded with precious gemstones take us to the mantle, which provides the driving force for plate tectonics. Next, the outer core. The spiraling of its molten metal creates Earth’s electromagnet. Finally, the inner core. At 6,400 kilometers down, we reach the absolute center of the Earth. Here, the temperature is considered to be as hot as the surface of the Sun.
(For more recent news about the inner core, I’ve added optional reading in the “Comments” section below.)
The full movie is at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD1pD0iozwI&list=PLDQWFZPqXPRA3pRvFBrcM6i8Ie_MhgWQ9&index=5
and is an hour and a half long. Please watch it before the meeting. - Movie Discussion: Ancient Builders of the AmazonLink visible for attendees
Recent stunning discoveries are exploding the myth of the Amazon as a primeval wilderness, revealing traces of ancient civilizations that flourished there for centuries.
Dense settlements indicate populations in the millions, supported by sophisticated agricultural systems, while huge geometric earthworks and roadways bear witness to complex religious ideas and social networks. The evidence is now clear that, far from being an untouched wilderness, the Amazon has been shaped by human hands for millennia.
The full movie is at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY82nZTxXQ4
and is 54 minutes long. Please watch it before the meeting.