Download this report as an MP3 sound file.

Letting the sunshine in.

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.

"A total eclipse of the heart…." Music establish and under   (:03+)

No, a total eclipse of the SUN — the first visible in the United States in 38 years will
occur this summer. A total eclipse happens when the moon completely blocks the solar disk
from view.

To mark the occasion, the U-S Postal Service is issuing a unique stamp two months in
advance. At first, the stamp shows a black disk with solar rays… but if you touch the
stamp, the heat of your finger will replace the black disk with a photograph of the moon.
When it cools, it reverts to the photo of the eclipse.

Both photos were taken in Libya in 2006 by astro-physicist Fred Espenak. THIS lunar
eclipse will start mid-morning on August 21st in Oregon and draw a 70-mile wide path
diagonally across the country to Charleston, South Carolina. There's a map of the path on
the back of the stamp sheet.

The stamp is being issued at the University of Wyoming's Art Museum on June 20th, just
after a single beam of sunlight will shine on a silver dollar embedded in the floor. That
happens just once a year… at noon on the summer solstice.

I’m Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting,
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

----------------------------------------------------------
Go to Previous Report
Go to Next Report

Go to Report Index