SciFY Academy AI & Astronomy

Science for You – SciFY invites you to the SciFY Academy event “AI & Astronomy” on Thursday, 5 November 2026, 19:00 – 21:00, at Impact Hub Athens (28 Karaiskaki St., Athens). Four scientists from the National Observatory of Athens and NCSR “Demokritos” will use everyday language and real-world examples to show how we study the universe today and the role Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays in it. The event is open to the general public, and no background in astronomy is needed.

Participation is free and open to everyone.
Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, as seating is limited.
A Certificate of Attendance is available to anyone who wants one.

Book your free ticket here

The event will focus on questions such as:

• How does AI help scientists analyze huge amounts of data and better understand the universe?
• How is AI used to study the Sun and phenomena that can affect systems on Earth?
• How are particles arriving from the depths of space detected on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea?
• Why can it be useful to turn scientific data into sound, and how can this make astronomy more accessible?

See the event program here

About the speakers:

Dr. Fiori-Anastasia Metallinou, Astrophysicist and Science Communication Officer at the National Observatory of Athens, will open the event. She will present a different way to understand space data: turning it into sound with the help of AI (sonification). She will explain how these “sounds of space” can be used:

• to communicate astronomy to the general public and give people with visual impairments better access to scientific knowledge,
• in music composition and the arts.

Next, Dr. Manos Saridakis, Research Director at the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens, will use simple examples to explain how AI:

• helps scientists identify patterns and compare observations with their theories,
• can bring us closer to understanding dark matter, dark energy and the evolution of the universe.

Then, Dr. Aimilia Smyrli, Astrophysicist and Head of the Education Office at NCSR “Demokritos”, will talk about the Sun through the “lens” of AI. She will talk about:

• how AI helps scientists study solar activity and better understand space weather,
• how intense solar activity can affect satellites, communications and technological systems on Earth.

Finally, Dr. Evangelia Drakopoulou, Astroparticle Physics Senior Researcher at NCSR “Demokritos”, will give the talk “AI & Astroparticle Physics”. She will show how AI helps in the search for extremely rare signals from the universe. She will discuss:

• how machine learning algorithms pick out a rare signal from huge amounts of “noise” and help scientists study the properties of particles,
• how similar techniques can be applied in other fields, such as medicine and environmental monitoring.

SciFY Academy is a series of educational activities open to everyone, run by the non-profit civil company Science For You – SciFY to share knowledge freely. It brings the general public into contact with people from research, business and civil society, and presents current scientific topics in a simple, understandable way. To date, more than 14,000 people have benefited from its activities.

Free registration: http://go.scify.gr/sfacIN54Tickets

Program: http://go.scify.gr/sfacIN54Progr

Speakers – Short Bios: http://go.scify.gr/sfacIN54Speakers