The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

issued the Total Eclipse of the Sun

Forever stamp Non-denominated postage is a postage stamp intended to meet a certain postage rate, but printed without the denomination, the price for that rate. They may retain full validity for the intended rate, regardless of later rate changes, or they ma ...

on June 20, 2017. The stamp includes two superimposed images, one showing a total

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

and the second showing a full moon that is revealed upon heat being applied. This stamp commemorates the

solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 The solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, dubbed the "Great American Eclipse" by some media, was a total solar eclipse visible within a band that spanned the contiguous United States from the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic c ...

, which was visible across the

continental United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

from coast to coast, weather permitting.

Details

In the first U.S. stamp application of

thermochromic ink Thermochromic ink (also called thermochromatic ink) is a type of dye that changes color in response to a change in temperature. It was first used in the 1970s in novelty toys like mood rings, but has found some practical uses in things such as therm ...

, the Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever stamps reveal a second image. By rubbing a thumb or finger on the image, the heat imparted will cause an underlying image of the full moon to be revealed. Afterward, the image reverts to the dark image as it cools. The US Postal Service notes that exposure to

ultraviolet Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of ...

(UV) light causes degradation of thermochromic inks, so the eclipse stamps should be shielded from sunlight to preserve their thermochromic behavior. To help with this, the Postal Service sends panes of this stamp to purchasers in special UV-blocking envelopes. In addition, UV-protective sleeves for the eclipse stamps are available from post offices for 25¢ each. The photograph of the total solar eclipse on the stamp was taken at

Jalu Jalu, Jallow, or Gialo () is a town in the Al Wahat District in northeastern Libya in the Jalo oasis. Jalu serves as both an oasis and the principal urban center of the oases region in eastern Libya. Jalu was one of the homelands of the Indigen ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

on March 29, 2006, by

Fred Espenak Fred Espenak (August 1, 1953 – June 1, 2025) was an American astrophysicist. He worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center and published extensively on eclipse predictions. Career Espenak became interested in astronomy when he was 7–8 year ...

. The stamp's alternate image is a photo of the full moon taken by Espenak at his observatory in

Portal, Arizona Portal is an unincorporated community in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. It lies south-southeast of San Simon and at the mouth of Cave Creek Canyon on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains. Often called the Yosemite of Arizona, th ...

in 2010. Known as "Mr. Eclipse", Espenak is a retired

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astrophysicist. The stamp was designed by USPS art director Antonio Alcalá of

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. The stamp is printed in a

pressure-sensitive adhesive Pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA, self-adhesive, self-stick adhesive) is a type of nonreactive adhesive which forms a bond when pressure is applied to bond the adhesive with a surface. No solvent, water, or heat is needed to activate the adhesive ...

pane of 16 stamps, in one design.

Denomination

The stamp is a Forever stamp so has no defined denomination which means it will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price, regardless of any future rate changes.

First day ceremony

The stamp's First-Day-of-Issue ceremony took place on June 20, 2017, at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

's Art Museum in conjunction with its annual

summer solstice The summer solstice or estival solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). The summer solstice is the day with the longest peri ...

celebration. That building was designed with an architectural feature whereby, on the day of the summer solstice each year, a single beam of sunlight moves across the floor and shines on a silver dollar embedded in the floor in the center of the Rotunda Gallery at noon.

References

External links

Solar Eclipse Stamps
on the MrEclipse.com website {{Postage stamps of the United States 21st-century solar eclipses Postage stamps of the United States Thermochromism 2017 07 20 2017 works Works about the Moon Sun in culture

Details

Denomination

First day ceremony

See also

References

External links