USPS

USPS Commemorative eclipse stamps transform at a touch

James Guilford , , , ,
Image: Eclipse Stamps Transform at a Touch - Credit: USPS
Eclipse Stamps Transform at a Touch – Credit: USPS

On August 21, 2017, tens of millions of people in the United States will have an opportunity to view a total eclipse of the Sun. A total solar eclipse was last seen on the U.S. mainland in 1979, but only in the Northwest. The eclipse this summer will sweep a narrow path across the entire country—the first time this has happened since 1918. The U.S. Postal Service® anticipates this rare event with a stamp celebrating the majesty of solar eclipses.

The Total Eclipse of the Sun stamp is the first U.S. stamp to use thermochromic ink, which reacts to the heat of your touch. Placing your finger over the black disc on the stamp causes the ink to change from black to clear to reveal an underlying image of the moon. The image reverts back to the black disc once it cools. The back of the stamp pane shows a map of the eclipse path.You can preserve the integrity of your Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever® stamp pane with our protective sleeve specifically designed for stamp preservation.

The stamp uses a photograph taken by astrophysicist Fred Espenak of a total solar eclipse that was seen over Jalu, Libya, on March 29, 2006. Mr. Espenak also took the photograph of the full moon that is revealed by pressing upon the stamp image. The reverse side of the stamp pane shows the path across the United States of the forthcoming August 21, 2017, total solar eclipse and gives the times that it will appear in some locations.

A total eclipse of the Sun occurs when the Moon completely blocks the visible solar disk from view, casting a shadow on Earth. The 70-mile-wide shadow path of the eclipse, known as the “path of totality,” will traverse the country diagonally, appearing first in Oregon (mid-morning local time) and exiting some 90 minutes later off the coast of South Carolina (mid-afternoon local time).

A total solar eclipse provides us with the only chance to see the Sun’s corona—its extended outer atmosphere—without specialized instruments. The corona during an eclipse looks like a gossamer white halo around a black disk, or like the petals of a flower reaching out into space.

Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp. 

The Total Eclipse of the Sun stamp is being issued as a Forever ® stamp. This Forever® stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.

Source: United States Postal Service

Mercury projects featured on stamps

Photonstopper , , , , , , ,
Image: Postage stamps feature two "Mercury" projects. -- USPS
Two commemorative postage stamps issued by the US Postal Service feature two different "Mercury" projects. -- USPS Image

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL — The Postal Service dedicated two stamps on May 4, 2011 commemorating two historic events — one that occurred a half century ago, and the second that’s making history now.

The 50th anniversary of America’s first manned spaceflight and an unmanned spacecraft currently charting planet Mercury were commemorated today on two 44-cent First-Class Forever stamps. The dedication ceremony took place next to a seven-story replica of the rocket Alan Shepard piloted to become America’s first man in space. A second stamp celebrates the MESSENGER Mission spacecraft that is currently orbiting and charting planet Mercury.

“These two historic missions — Shepard’s Mercury flight that took place 50 years ago tomorrow, and MESSENGER’s current orbiting of Mercury — frame a remarkable 50-year span in which America has advanced space exploration through more than 1,500 manned and unmanned flights,” said Stephen Masse, U.S. Postal Service vice president, finance and planning, in dedicating the stamps. “The Postal Service is proud to commemorate these achievements on stamps.”

Joining Masse in the dedication was Laura Shepard Churchley, Shepard’s daughter; Scott Carpenter, Mercury astronaut; Charles Bolden, NASA administrator and former Space Shuttle commander; Robert Cabana, former Space Shuttle commander and current director, Kennedy Space Center; and, Jim Adams, NASA deputy director, Planetary Science.

“These stamps, which will go out by the millions across this country, are a testament to the thousands of NASA men and women who shared dreams of human spaceflight and enlarging our knowledge of the universe,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

Project Mercury
As the world watched on television, Shepard blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on May 5, 1961. The flight reached a maximum speed of 5,100 mph, roughly eight times the speed of sound, and a zenith of 116 miles above the Earth. With parachutes deploying, the space capsule safely splashed down in the Atlantic some 300 miles from the launch site. The New York Times declared that Shepard’s 15-minute flight “roused the country to one of its highest peaks of exultation since the end of World War II.”

Emboldened by this achievement, President John F. Kennedy declared in a historic speech on May 25, 1961, that America “should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”

The Mercury project set the country on a path that would lead to the stunning Apollo 11 moon landing eight years later on July 20, 1969, a crowning technological achievement of the 20th century. Shepard commanded the Apollo 14 mission, touching down on the moon February 5, 1971. He died of leukemia near his home in Pebble Beach, California on July 21, 1998.

MESSENGER
On March 17, 2011, MESSENGER became the first spacecraft to enter into orbit around Mercury. MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) is a scientific mission to investigate Mercury, which some scientists say is “the least-studied terrestrial planet” in our solar system.

Launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on Aug. 3, 2004, the spacecraft made six “flybys” of planets, including one of Earth, two of Venus, and three of Mercury. The flybys were done to collect data, to conserve fuel through gravity assists, and to make adjustments critical to achieving the precise trajectory for successfully inserting the spacecraft into orbit around Mercury.

Entering orbit in March 2011 represented a major milestone in space exploration. The data obtained by MESSENGER before and during the year-long orbit will be analyzed for many years to come. Scientists think the data may explain how the planet took shape and also offer clues about the origin of the solar system.

Creating the Stamps
Donato Giancola of Brooklyn, NY, illustrated the stamps under the direction of Phil Jordan of Falls Church, VA, who based the artwork on NASA photographs and images. The phrase “Mercury Project,” depicted on the stamp image was approved by NASA officials who indicate the term is used interchangeably with “Project Mercury” as noted in the text on the back of the stamp sheet. The MESSENGER Mission stamp depicts the MESSENGER spacecraft orbiting Mercury.

The Project Mercury and MESSENGER Mission Stamps are being issued as Forever stamps. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.