US #5601
2021 Active Sun – Sun Science
- Pictures the active sun
- One of 10 stamps in the Sun Science set
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Sun Science
Value: 55¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: June 18, 2021
First Day City: Greenbelt, Maryland
Quantity Issued: ... more
US #5601
2021 Active Sun – Sun Science
- Pictures the active sun
- One of 10 stamps in the Sun Science set
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Sun Science
Value: 55¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: June 18, 2021
First Day City: Greenbelt, Maryland
Quantity Issued: 18,000,000
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Flexographic, Foil Stamping
Format: Panes of 20
Tagging: Phosphor, block tag
Why the stamp was issued: To showcase the powerful and mysterious science behind the functioning of our sun.
About the stamp design: Pictures a colorized images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory of the active sun. According to NASA, the color of this stamp represents an image of the sun as viewed with “extreme ultraviolet wavelength 171 Angstroms.”
First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at Greenbelt Main Post Office. It was originally to be held at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, but was moved due to observance of the Juneteenth Federal Holiday and the facility being closed.
About the Sun Science set: Includes 10 stamp designs picturing different details of our sun along with phenomena associated with it. Each design pictures a colorized image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. The different colors represent a different wavelength that reveals or highlights a particular aspect of our sun.
History the stamp represents: Anazagoras, a philosopher from ancient Greece, was one of the first people in history to offer a scientific explanation of the Sun. He suggested that the Sun wasn’t the chariot of a god, but rather a huge ball of flaming metal. Anazagoras was also the first to suggest that the Moon glows at night because it is reflecting the light from the Sun.
After Anazagoras came Eratosthenes in the 3rd century BC, and then Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD. The latter two began making estimations of how far the Earth was from the Sun. These early astronomers also wondered whether the Sun was the center of the solar system rather than the Earth. However, it wasn’t until Nicolaus Copernicus came along in the 16th century that a detailed model was created to support this theory.
Finally, in the 17th century, the telescope was invented. This allowed scientists and philosophers to take the first look at the universe beyond Earth’s atmosphere, including the Sun. One of the most famous astronomers to make use of early telescopes was Galileo Galilei. He was the first to theorize that sunspots were located on the surface of the Sun rather than traveling through space as independent objects.
Early astronomers provided the foundation of all solar research. Without them, who knows how many mysteries we would’ve missed out on solving?
Less 
