Thursday, July 20, 2017

Fort Lauderdale Postmaster to Host 'Touching' Stamp Tribute Aug. 12

Fort Lauderdale Postmaster David Guiney (above) is looking forward to officiating a Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever stamp dedication on Saturday, August 12.

Fort Lauderdale Postmaster David Guiney will dedicate an enlargement of the Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever stamps to the Broward County Main Library and the South Florida Amateur Astronomers Association Saturday, August 12. Employees are invited to the 1 p.m. dedication at the Broward County Main Library, 100 S. Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale. Participation is an off-the-clock activity.
On June 20, the U.S. Postal Service dedicated the first-of-its-kind Forever stamp which transforms the solar eclipse image into the Moon from the heat of a finger. These Forever stamps commemorate the upcoming August 21 eclipse.
 
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. 
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 --- but not Florida.

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.

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