Celebrating 30 Years of Mercury

Mercury, Jan/Feb 2002 Table of Contents

Image courtesy of the ASP

by Richard M. Reis, Andrew Fraknoi, Sally Stephens, George Musser, James C. White, and Robert Naeye

Essays by all the living former Editors of Mercury

In January 1972, a new voice of astronomy appeared on the scene: the premier issue of Mercury magazine. Mercury was the brainchild of ASP Executive Officer Leon E. Salanave. After rejecting the name Astronomy, he proposed Mercury, after the messenger of the heavens in Roman mythology who appears on the Society's logo. ASP President Harold F. Weaver wrote in part: "Publication of this first issue of the new Journal of our Society is an important event in our history. It represents the most evident step in a series now being taken by the Society to provide better public understanding of astronomy. To provide such understanding was a major goal of the Society when it was founded 82 years ago."

Along with his duties as the ASP's first Executive Officer, Salanave served as Mercury's first Editor until his resignation in 1974 (he died tragically in a traffic accident in 1993). The cover photo of the premier issue showed the infamous fly that appeared on a photographic plate of the September 10, 1923 solar eclipse. The lead article featured Jesse L. Greenstein's thoughts on receiving the prestigious ASP Bruce Medal. Other articles covered aids for teachers, the 1923 México eclipse expedition, and information on recent comets. The inside back cover featured sky maps for January and February 1972.

Much has changed in astronomy since 1972. We've seen all the planets up close except Pluto, and landed robotic emissaries on Mars, Venus, and Eros. The Hubble Space Telescope routinely returns razor-sharp images that would have been inconceivable in the early 70s. The large telescopes of today dwarf their 1972 counterparts, and we know for certain that planets orbit other stars. In the world at large, we've witnessed the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the profusion of the Internet. And like all magazines, the way Mercury is produced has undergone profound transformation thanks to the introduction of innovative computers and software.

But much remains the same, as demonstrated by the following essays from all of Mercury's living editors. Mercury remains a bimonthly, and it has always been produced on a shoestring budget. The magazine continues to serve the ASP's membership with news and information about Society activities. And like that bold first issue in 1972, Mercury continues to address the ASP's many constituencies by covering scientific research, education, history, observing, and the intersection of astronomy and culture. Without the commercial pressures of other publications, Mercury has always been and will always be a distinct voice in a din of babble. Throughout the magazine's illustrious history, Mercury's editors have remained faithful to the original goal of providing "better public understanding of astronomy." – Robert Naeye

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