Arizona astrophysicist’s photos to be featured on eclipse stamp
Apr 28, 2017, 12:45 PM
(©2017 USPS)
(©2017 USPS)
PHOENIX — An Arizona astrophysicist’s out-of-this world photo of a total solar eclipse will be featured on a U.S. postage stamp this summer and it includes a pretty cool feature.
The U.S. Postal Service said the Forever stamp bearing Fred Espenak’s photo will be released June 20. The stamp will be able to transform into another image of his, a full moon, using the body heat from fingers or thumbs.
Pretty cool – right? #EclipseStamps transforms into an image of the Moon when you touch it! https://t.co/dwn7MHoiZH
— U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) April 28, 2017
Espenak, from Portal, Arizona, shot the eclipse when he was in Libya in 2006.
The image will revert to the total solar eclipse when it cools down.
Theromochromic ink was used to make the stamp. The temperature-sensitive compounds briefly change the color of an object when exposed to heat.
People are already pretty excited about it.
How cool is this stamp? It’s a first-of-its-kind stamp that changes when you touch it! #EclipseStamps https://t.co/xirq2QJXxs pic.twitter.com/mGo0v9LReV
— Tom Ouellette (@Ouellette_USPS) April 27, 2017
WANT: Total Eclipse of the Sun Commemorated on a @USPS Forever Stamp https://t.co/pMqbr6kr94 #EclipseStamps Thermochromic ink, out June 20. pic.twitter.com/i9x0bXhM3O
— Dave Dickinson (@Astroguyz) April 28, 2017
As a scientist & stamp enthusiast, these #EclipseStamps are awesome!! https://t.co/QsrOX4i9cD pic.twitter.com/5PRCeUIOab
— Jennifer Hertzberg (@PaleoForams) April 28, 2017
On the back of the pane, there will be a map of the eclipse’s 70-mile-wide shadow path called the “path to totality.” The map shows that it can first be seen in Oregon all the way until it reaches South Carolina.
(©2017 USPS)
An eclipse of this kind has not been visible from the United States since 1979.
Those interested in exact detail of the eclipse and its path can visit NASA’s website.
