US Postal Service to Unveil a Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever Stamp at the Fleet Science Center

By Nathan Young   On Wednesday, August 2, at 6 p.m., the U.S. Postal Service will unveil the Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever Stamp during a ceremony at the Fleet Science Center.   The Total Eclipse of the Sun stamp is the first U.S. stamp to use thermochromic ink, which reacts to the heat of your touch. Placing your finger over the black disc on the stamp causes the ink to change from black to clear to reveal an underlying image of the moon.   The unveiling ceremony will be at 6 p.m. in the Community Forum of the Fleet Science Center. The event is free to the general public. There will be brief talks by Lisa Baldwin, Postmaster San Diego, and Lisa M. Will, Ph.D., Professor of Astronomy/Physics San Diego City College and Resident Astronomer at the Fleet Science Center.    The upcoming Great American Eclipse on August 21 will be the first total solar eclipse in the United States since 1979. The path of totality will traverse the country diagonally, appearing first in Oregon and traveling some 2,500 miles east to the coast of South Carolina, passing through portions of 14 states on the way.   This stamp image is a photograph taken by retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak of Portal, AZ, who is considered by many to be the world’s leading authority on total solar eclipses with 27 under his belt. The photograph shows a total solar eclipse seen from Jalu, Libya, on March 29, 2006.   Immediately after the stamp unveiling ceremony will be the Fleet's live monthly planetarium show, The Sky Tonight. Dr. Lisa Will takes visitors on a journey through the cosmos and into the depths of space in the Fleet's Giant Dome Theater. This month's show will also focus on the Great American Eclipse. Tickets to the Sky Tonight will be available at the Fleet ticket counter.    The San Diego County Astronomy Association also provides free telescope viewing outdoors on the Prado in Balboa Park, weather and operational requirements permitting.