2017 Total Solar Eclipse stamp

In the first U.S. stamp application of thermochromic ink,{{cite web|last= Loison |first= Faustine |title= L'encre thermochromique qui éclipse le soleil |language= French |trans-title= Thermochromic ink that eclipses the sun |date= 2017-05-24 |accessdate= 2017-07-18 |website= GraphiLine.com |url= https://www.graphiline.com/article/25981/encre-thermochromique-eclipse-soleil |quote= Ce timbre qui est le premier timbre américain qui utilise de l'encre thermochromique [This stamp is the first American stamp that uses thermochromic ink]}} 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 (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.{{cite news|last= Fritz |first= Angela |title= The U.S. Postal Service designed this awesome stamp to celebrate the eclipse |date= 2017-04-27 |accessdate= 2017-07-09 |newspaper= The Washington Post |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/04/27/the-u-s-postal-service-designed-this-awesome-stamp-to-celebrate-the-eclipse/}} 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, Libya on March 29, 2006,{{cite web|title= Sonnenfinsternis in den USA am 21. August: Wo die Sicht am besten ist |language= German |trans-title= Solar Eclipse in the USA on August 21: Where the visibility is best |date= 2017-06-10 |accessdate= 2017-07-10 |website= Der Spiegel |url= http://www.spiegel.de/reise/fernweh/sonnenfinsternis-in-den-usa-am-21-august-wo-die-sicht-am-besten-ist-a-1149133.html |quote= ... hält die US-Post bereit: Sie legt eine spezielle Briefmarke auf, die 'Total Solar Eclipse Forever'. Berührt man die auf der Marke abgebildete verdunkelte Sonne, erscheint ein Bild des Mondes. Das Foto auf der Briefmarke zeigt allerdings die Sonnenfinsternis vom 29. März 2006, aufgenommen in Libyen. [... the US Postal Service is ready: it is making a special stamp, the 'Total Solar Eclipse Forever'. If one touches the darkened sun on the stamp, a picture of the moon appears. The photo on the stamp shows, however, the solar eclipse of 29 March 2006, taken in Libya.]}} by Fred Espenak. The stamp's alternate image is a photo of the full moon taken by Espenak{{cite web|last= Billau |first= Christine |title= UToledo alumnus captured photos featured on new stamp commemorating total solar eclipse |date= 2017-06-13 |accessdate= 2017-07-10 |website= University of Toledo |url= http://media.utoledo.edu/2017/06/13/utoledo-alumnus-captured-photos-featured-on-new-stamp-commemorating-total-solar-eclipse/ |quote= With the heat of a finger, Espenak’s photo of the total eclipse of the sun transforms into an image of the full moon, also captured by Espenak.}} at his observatory in Portal, Arizona in 2010.{{cite web|last= Espenak |first= Fred |authorlink= Fred Espenak |title= The story behind the 2017 eclipse stamp |date= 2017-05-20 |accessdate= 2017-07-11 |website= EarthSky |url= http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/total-eclipse-of-the-sun-forever-stamp-espenaks-story |quote= ... the full moon image was made from [Espenak's] observatory in Portal, Arizona in 2010.}} Known as "Mr. Eclipse", Espenak is a retired NASA astrophysicist.{{cite news|last= White |first= Kaila |title= Eclipse photo on new U.S. stamp was taken by Arizonan known as 'Mr. Eclipse' |date= 2017-05-08 |accessdate= 2017-07-09 |newspaper= USA Today |url= https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/arizona/2017/05/01/portal-arizona-man-fred-espenak-mr-eclipse-nasa-photo-stamp/101165036/}} The stamp was designed by USPS art director Antonio Alcalá of Alexandria, Virginia.{{cite news|last= Fienberg |first= Richard Tresch |title= Solar Eclipse to Be Commemorated on Thermochromic Stamp |date= 2017-04-27 |accessdate= 2017-07-10 |website= American Astronomical Society |url= https://aas.org/posts/news/2017/04/solar-eclipse-be-commemorated-thermochromic-stamp}}

The stamp is printed in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 16 stamps,{{cite web |title= Changeable Ink Can Make Moon Appear on U.S. Eclipse Stamp |date= 2017-04-28 |accessdate= 2017-07-11 |website= American Philatelic Society |url= https://blog.stamps.org/2017/04/27/eclipse-stamp/ |quote= The stamp, printed in panes of 16, ... |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170716142916/http://blog.stamps.org/2017/04/27/eclipse-stamp/ |archive-date= 2017-07-16 |url-status= dead }} in one design.{{cite web|title= Stamp Announcement 17-27: Total Eclipse of the Sun Stamp |date= 2017-05-11 |accessdate= 2017-07-12 |website= United States Postal Service |url= https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2017/pb22467/html/info_005.htm |quote= On June 20, 2017, in Laramie, WY, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the Total Eclipse of the Sun stamp (Forever priced at 49 cents), in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 16 stamps (Item 475300). The $7.84 Total Eclipse of the Sun pane of 16 stamps may not be split, and the stamps may not be sold individually. The stamps will go on sale nationwide June 20, 2017.}}

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.

The stamp's First-Day-of-Issue ceremony took place on June 20, 2017, at the University of Wyoming's Art Museum in conjunction{{cite news|title= Transformer stamp released by US Postal Service |date= 2017-06-20 |accessdate= 2017-07-18 |agency= Associated Press |url= http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2017-06-20-US--Eclipse%20Stamp/id-8a4d8fda992a4432a04e99301d3b2565 |quote= Tuesday's ceremony was timed with the first day of summer.}} with its annual summer solstice celebration. That building was designed with an architectural feature whereby, on the day of the summer solstice each year,{{cite web |last= Brackenridge |first= Kathryn |title= USPS Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever Stamp |date= 2017-06-02 |accessdate= 2017-07-18 |publisher= Jackson, Wyoming and Teton County, Wyoming |url= http://tetoneclipse.com/usps-total-eclipse-sun-forever-stamp/ |quote= ... a single beam of sunlight shines on a silver dollar embedded in the floor, which occurs at noon on the summer solstice in the UW Art Museum’s Rotunda Gallery. }}{{Dead link|date=September 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} a single beam of sunlight moves across the floor{{cite news|last= Baldwin |first= Chad |title= Postal Service's New Eclipse Stamp to be Launched at UW |date= 2017-04-27 |accessdate= 2017-07-18 |website= University of Wyoming |url= http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2017/04/postal-services-new-eclipse-stamp-to-be-launched-at-uw.html |quote= Visitors are encouraged to arrive at 11:30 a.m. to watch a beam of sunlight move across the floor, hitting an embedded silver dollar in the center of the Rotunda Gallery at noon}} and shines on a silver dollar embedded in the floor in the center of the Rotunda Gallery at noon.

{{Portal|Solar System}}

• Commemorative stamp
• Thermochromism
• Eclipses in mythology and culture

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| image1 = [https://link.usps.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Eclipse_gallery6.jpg The two stamp images]. On top-right is default stamp image. On bottom-left is image when heated.{{cite web|title= Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever Stamp to be Issued Tomorrow |date= 2017-06-19 |accessdate= 2017-07-10 |website= United States Postal Service |url= http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2017/pr17_032.htm}}

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• [http://www.mreclipse.com/SEstamps/SEstamps1.html Solar Eclipse Stamps] on the MrEclipse.com website

{{Postage stamps of the United States}}

Category:21st-century solar eclipses

Category:Postage stamps of the United States

Category:Thermochromism

2017 07 20

Category:2017 works

Category:Works about the Moon

Category:Sun in culture