WGNO

Postal Service to unveil special stamp to mark total eclipse of the sun

WASHINGTON – The United States Postal Service will issue a special Forever Stamp in advance of this summer’s total solar eclipse that will transform as you touch it.

The heat-responsive stamp will present an image of a total solar eclipse normally, but when you hold your finger on top of it, an image of the moon will be revealed, according to the Postal Service.

The special stamp, which will debut on June 20, will mark the first time the Postal Service has ever used thermochromic ink, which responds to body heat.

Both photographs – the image of the eclipse and of the full moon – were taken by astrophysicist Fred Espenak.

The eclipse picture shows a total solar eclipse seen from Jalu, Libya, on March 29, 2006, according to the Postal Service.

The upcoming total eclipse of the sun will occur on August 21 and will travel across the entire width of the continental United States, the first time a solar eclipse has been visible from coast to coast since 1918.

The path will run west to east from Oregon to South Carolina and will include portions of 14 states, according to the Postal Service.

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