Science & Space

Value:  66¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  June 18, 2021
First Day City:  Greenbelt, Maryland
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Flexographic, Foil Stamping
Format:  Panes of 20

The stamp was issued to showcase the powerful and mysterious science behind our sun’s functioning.

The design features colorized images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory of a coronal hole, representing the sun in extreme ultraviolet light.

The First Day of Issue Ceremony took place at the Greenbelt Main Post Office due to the closure of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on the Juneteenth Federal Holiday.

The Sun Science set includes 10 stamp designs, each picturing different sun details and phenomena. The colors represent different wavelengths, highlighting specific aspects of our sun.

Our Sun, classified as a G-type main-sequence star, has surface temperatures fluctuating from 5,300 to 6,000 degrees Kelvin, equivalent to 9,000 to 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

G-type main-sequence stars produce heat and energy through nuclear fusion in their cores. Our Sun transforms 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium every second, converting four million tons of matter into energy.

While nuclear reactors on Earth use fission, the massive cost of creating a productive nuclear fusion reactor remains a challenge for scientists. It emphasizes the value of the power generated by our sun.