Probing the Vastness
of Space
is a panel of six stamps over a background of the Eagle Nebula.
The 60-cent international-rate stamps depict, in addition to the
twin 10-meter domes of the W.M. Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea,
these other views: an artist's rendering of the Hubble Space Telescope;
a photograph of the Very Large Array on the Plains of San Augustin
near Socorro, New Mexico; the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
in Chile (a Roger Ressmeyer photo); the 100-inch Hooker Telescope
at Mount Wilson; and the 302-meter radio telescope at Arecibo,
Puerto Rico.
The first pentagonal stamps ever isued by the U.S. Postal Service
have been released as an Exploring the Solar System souvenir sheet.
These are $1.00 commemorative stamps in five designs, including
an image of a solar eclipse, an illustrated cutaway view of the
Sun, a Skylab image of a solar eruption, a NASA image of sunrise
from space, and a photograph of the Sun in a partly cloudy sky.
A montage of Voyager images of Saturn and its moons forms the
surround on this $5.00 panel.
Another new USPS release is the souvenir sheet Escaping the Gravity
of the Earth, which includes two $4.20 Priority Mail stamps. Over
a background photograph of astronauts David Leesma and Kathryn
Sullivan in the open cargo bay of Space Shuttle Challenger on
a 1984 mission are two hologram stamps. Representing American
technology in solving the problems of escaping the gravitational
pull of th Earth, the stamps are artists' conceptions of the International
Space Station.
An interesting set of four 33-cent Stampin' the Future stamps
features children's art portraying visions of astronauts, rockets,
stars—even an astrodog. The designs are delightful.
The Apollo program is commemorated with a Landing on the Moon
souvenir sheet. This pane features a single $11.75 stamp with
a hologram of a lunar lander based on computer and three-dimensional
models from NASA. The presentation sheet is a photograph of astronaut
Charles M. Duke, Jr. on the surface of the Moon with a lunar rover
in the background. The photo was taken by John W. Young during
the Apollo 16 mission in 1972.
Also available is another $11.75 Express Mail souvenir, Space
Achievement and Exploration, the first circular commemorative
stamp ever issued. Its design is a hologram of the Earth. This
is the signature issue for the Space Achievement and Exploration
Commemorative Series. All these stamps were introduced at the
World Stamp Expo 2000 in July.
Media Relations Officer
Needed
The Astronomical League has an immediate
need for a volunteer with professional experience in public and/or
media relations. The League has been asked by Boeing and NASA
to take a leadership role in the development and operation of
an amateur telescope aboard the International Space Station (ISS-AT).
The ISS-AT is scheduled for implementation in 2006.
As this project is made known to the wider public, there will
be considerable media interest. The League is looking for a League
member to serve as ISS-AT Media Relations Officer to handle telephone,
electronic, mail and live inquiries regarding the ISS-AT project.
Applicants should have prior experience in public and media relations
and should be comfortable fielding technical questions about space-based
telescopes, space science, and astronomy. They should be prepared
to field a substantial number of telephone calls and to mail press
packages as necessary, and to participate in live radio, television
and/or on-line interviews.
Interested persons should contact League President, Chuck Allen,
at cea@compuserve.com, outlining their qualifications