The USPS announced a new bright issue of ten captivating stamps displays images of the Sun taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. These mesmerizing items feature various events that happen on this star, including solar flares, sunspots and coronal loops. This beautiful philatelic release was designed by art director Antonio Alcalá and the images depicted on it was taken by a spacecraft launched in February 2010.
Equipped with devices for taking photos of the sun, SDO has gathered a great number of images during its launch to help scholars learn more about this star and its magnetic fields produce the solar activity we observe. The stamps do not represent the real colors perceive by a human eyesight, but feature the NASA’s colorized images processed according to different wavelengths that expose or underline particular aspects of the activity of the sun.
“I have been a stamp collector all my life and I can’t wait to see NASA science highlighted in this way,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in Washington. “I feel that the natural world around us is as beautiful as art, and it’s inspiring to be able to share the import and excitement of studying the Sun with people around the country.”
Take a look at other solar stamps.
