he roots of this largely forgotten
story lie not solely in the founding of Carleton College in 1866,
but also in the organization of the Cincinnati Astronomical Society
in 1842. The society, founded by Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, was
composed of townspeople from all walks of life, who subscribed and
solicited money to erect an observatory. It was the first serious
attempt to combine leading scientific work with a program of public
outreach and education.
In 1846, Mitchel
went a step farther and published "the first popular Astronomical
periodical ever attempted...in any language," in order to inform
the intelligent and interested layperson "with regard to the
primary and fundamental truths of Astronomy." The publication was
named The Sidereal [i.e., Star] Messenger - a literal
translation of the title of the first work based on telescopic
observations, Galileo's Nuncius Sidereus. Mitchel's journal
lasted only two years, abandoned so that he could devote more time
to his other duties. In 1882, however, a new version of The
Sidereal Messenger appeared-at Carleton College-where it was
published privately by the director of the Carleton College
Observatory.
Like its predecessor, this second Messenger proclaimed
that "There are other public interests to serve besides those that
are mainly theoretical, or professional; for there are persons, not
a few, in every vocation of life, that have a love for the elements
of this great science...." It was, as its predecessor had been, the
only popular journal of astronomy in the world; for three years it
was the only-and for its entire run was the most influential and
successful- astronomical journal in the United States. And like its
predecessor, the new Messenger was published at an
observatory which was committed both to serious scientific research
and to the introduction of the elements of astronomy to a broad
range of people.
