Lighting Up The Main Telescope Dome For Kawasaki Day 26th January

On Monday 26th of January, along with numerous sites across the British Isles, the members of Sherwood Observatory, lit up the main telescope dome in red light for Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day in association with Societi, The UK Kawasaki Disease Foundation.

So, what is Kawasaki Disease?

Kawasaki Disease is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in UK children. It is also increasingly common with around 1,000 hospital admissions each year in the UK. As common as some forms of bacterial meningitis and just as serious, awareness of Kawasaki Disease is particularly important. Prompt diagnosis and treatment can significantly reduce the risk of heart damage in children. But on average children are currently misdiagnosed 2-3 times before receiving a correct diagnosis of Kawasaki Disease – by which time irreversible heart damage can occur. The risk of serious heart damage increases proportionately with increasing delay. So, awareness really is key.

We switched on at 7pm, and although the weather was foggy, the dome could be seen from a number of places across Mansfield and Ashfield in Nottinghamshire. A number of visitors that evening said it created quite an impression as they drove up Coxmoor Road approaching Sherwood Observatory.

At this point I would like to thank our Deputy Observatory Director Julian Best and member Jack Hughes for the work they put in to make the event happen, and also for the ingenuity and forward thinking of our Planetarium & Science Centre Manager Tony Booth for providing a number of red shower caps to cover the white lights from the security bollards which surround the car park and site entrance and exits, and everyone who helped with this campaign.

We finished the display at 10.30pm and I hope that the photographs give some idea of what the site looked like.

As this is an annual event, we hope to support and take part in it again next year. We are pleased that we were able to do our little bit to support this very worthwhile cause.

You can find our more and learn more about Societi and Kawasaki Disease here

Contributed by Michael Lowe, Secretary.