What:

The U.S. Postal Service will unveil the Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever stamp during a ceremony at the Fleet Science Center.

The Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever stamp is the first U.S. stamp to use thermochromic ink, which reacts to the heat of your touch. Placing your finger over the black disc on the stamp causes the ink to change from black to clear to reveal an underlying image of the moon.

A special pictorial postmark will also be available at the event.

Who:

Lisa Baldwin, Postmaster San Diego
Lisa M. Will, Ph.D., Professor of Astronomy/Physics San Diego City College

When:

Wednesday, August 2, 2017
6:00 p.m.

Where:

Fleet Science Center
1875 El Prado
San Diego CA 92101

Admission is free.

Background:

A total eclipse of the Sun occurs when the Moon completely blocks the visible solar disk from view, casting a shadow on Earth. The 70-mile-wide shadow path of the eclipse, known as the “path of totality,” will traverse the country diagonally, appearing first in Oregon (mid-morning local time) and exiting some 2,500 miles east and 90 minutes later off the coast of South Carolina (mid-afternoon local time) passing through portions of 14 states.

A total solar eclipse provides us with the only chance to see the Sun’s corona — its extended outer atmosphere — without specialized instruments. During the total phase of an eclipse the corona appears as a gossamer white halo around the black disk of the Moon, resembling the petals of a flower reaching out into space.

Tens of millions of people in the United States hope to view this rare event, which has not been seen on the U.S. mainland since 1979. The eclipse will travel a narrow path across the entire country for the first time since 1918. The back of the stamp pane provides a map of the August 21 eclipse path and times it may appear in some locations. Visit NASA’s website to view detailed maps of the eclipse’s path.

This stamp image is a photograph taken by retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak of Portal, AZ, who is considered by many to be the world’s leading authority on total solar eclipses with 27 under his belt.  The photograph shows a total solar eclipse seen from Jalu, Libya, on March 29, 2006.