The pre-Socratic philophers of ancient Greece, in their quest for the fundamental principle of the
world, were probably the first thinkers in the western culture to look for a link between micro and
macrocosmos. After more than 2,000 years the quest is still ongoing, but the domain changed from
Philosphy to Physics.
The existence of a strong relationship connecting phenomena involving elementary particles and
astrophysical processes, from star formation and production of energy to the origin and evolution of
the universe itself as a whole, has been one of the most outstanding achievements of the 20th century.
The convergenge of these kind of studies has given birth to a new scientific subject called
Astroparticle Physics.
The “Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS” Foundation, who manages the Astronomical Observatory of the
Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley and the Planetarium of Lignan, in the italian Alps at the
border with Switzerland and France, organises *Pathways among Stars and Particles*, a special
public outreach and education initiative devoted to Astroparticle Physics and spanning from midautumn
2009 to late spring 2010.
Five scientists operating in different fields of contemporary scientific research will explain in five
different lectures with free entrance the goals of their own work and the instrumentation they use to
achieve them, the latest results they have found and the ones they expect to obtain in the next years.

Download the whole programme