Tens of
millions of people in the United States hope to view this once-in-a-lifetime
event — the August 21 total solar
eclipse. The approximate 70-mile-wide “path of totality” of the Moon’s
shadow will cross portions of 14 states from Oregon to South Carolina. This is
the first total solar eclipse to cross the entire country for the first time
since 1918. The last eclipse seen on the U.S. mainland was 1979.
To
determine your city’s proximity to the eclipse, click this link or review the state listing of more than 1,100 towns and
cities that will fall in the eclipse’s path.
To
commemorate the event, the U.S. Postal Service will release the Total
Eclipse of the Sun Forever stamps June 20. This first-of-its-kind stamp,
for the US, transforms into an image of the Moon from the heat of a finger. Two
stamp images are shown throughout this messaging for illustrative purposes only
to demonstrate what will be seen when transformed. This is a single design issuance offered and
sold in a pane of 16 stamps.
The eclipse
and Moon images were photographed by retired NASA Astrophysicist Fred Espanak,
a.k.a. Mr. Eclipse, of Portal, AZ. The back of the stamp pane provides
a map of the eclipse path and times it may appear in some locations.
Visit NASA’s website to view detailed maps of the path. The public is asked to share
the news on social media using the hashtag #EclipseStamps.
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