Participation of NKUA Professors in an event by the Hellenic Parliament Foundation and the Hellenic Space Centre

A special two-day event entitled “Stars in the Park. A discussion with the experts” was organized on Friday 30 June and Saturday 1 July jointly by the Hellenic Parliament Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy and the Hellenic Space Centre with a significant participation of professors from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

The two-day conference was held at the National Reconciliation Park, in the Livadia Kotyli area of Grammos Mountain, and focused on reflections and scientific discoveries concerning primordial human questions, such as what is life and how it is created, what are stars, how they are created and how they affect humans.

Four professors from the University of Athens participated in the two-day conference. Mr. Ioannis Daglis, Professor of Space Physics, Ms. Kalliopi Dasyra, Assistant Professor Observational Astrophysics, Ms. Despina Hadjidemitriou, Professor of Observational Astrophysics (all three in the Department of Physics), and Mr. Evanthis Hadjivassiliou, Professor of Post-War World History in the Department of History and Archaeology, in his capacity as Secretary General of the Hellenic Parliament Foundation.

Prof. Hadjidimitriou talked about the chemical elements and compounds necessary for life and about the evolution of stars. Prof. Daglis spoke about the contribution of light, magnetism and water to the existence of life, and about the nearest star of our space neighbourhood, the Sun. Prof. Dasyra spoke about the role of stars as building blocks of galaxies.

Citizens who attended the two-day workshop from the surrounding area and filled the auditorium, asked the scientists their questions. An interesting and constructive discussion followed, including the possibility of humanity relocating to other planets, the life of astronauts, the evolution of stars and the geometry of the universe.

In addition to the scientific talks, the two-day event gave participants the opportunity to get in touch with the nature and history of the region. As part of the two-day event, a historical tour by a scientific associate of the National Reconciliation Park and a hiking excursion in the surrounding area took place.

The two-day event closed with a night observation of the dark sky of Gramos in cooperation with the Astronomical Association of Western Macedonia, which excited and inspired the participants.

Photostories: https://uoa2-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/iadaglis_o365_uoa_gr/ElD36MTo465EvsyKwciRI5UBjzZykcnoXH6cQ2AgdrO0Rw?e=5khmz4