Today is Giving Tuesday, and on this Giving Tuesday, it is only appropriate that we use our voices to uplift another cause. The Kwasan Observatory was established in 1929 at Kyoto University in Japan. Former observatory director and organizer of the Kickstarter, Kazunari Shibata, writes: Kwasan Observatory is the second oldest university observatory in Japan and has a unique research history, including key involvement in solar coronal research and pioneering the study of Martian meteorology.  The observatory has also been a very important hub in Japan for outreach activities, so much so it is known as a “sacred place for amateur astronomy” in Japan. However, the financial future of Kwasan Observatory is uncertain, and we are looking for outside funding to support its continued existence.

A large part of the reason for the uncertain future of the observatory is that it is no longer used by Kyoto University due to the increasing light pollution. The university moved its operations to the Hida Observatory and Okayama Observatory, and the Okayama location essentially received the funding that was going to Kwasan back in 2018.

To keep the observatory up and running, Shibata’s Kickstarter is looking to raise US$10,000, and there ARE physical rewards involved, including an educational e-book and digital photos of astrophysicist and Queen guitarist Dr. Brian May visiting the observatory early this year, all to save a space that is important to the local amateur astronomy community and the astro-culture of Japan. We’ll have a link to the Kickstarter on our website, DailySpace.org, and you can find more information about the observatory and its history there.

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