Solar Stamps

When I ordered stamps, I was surprised to find a new product; the stamps are called Sun Science. I consider the shiny, brilliantly colored images a gift from NASA to the person who receives the card or letter. The ten images on the stamps were taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The observatory allows us to see the Sun in wavelengths of ultraviolet light. Each stamp shows a different feature of the sun that helps scientists learn how our star, the sun, works. The black and white images were colorized for the stamps.

As you know, magnetic activity on the sun; solar winds, solar flares, etc. affect communications here on earth. Maybe you have even been inconvenienced by delayed flights or loss of a satellite signal. The information, provided by NASA, introduced a word that was new to me—heliophysics. On the stamps we see photos of the results of solar activity caused by the constantly changing magnetic fields. Scientists (heliophysicists?) observe plasma blasts and solar flares to understand how they impact technology in space. NASA says, “Sunspots, coronal holes, and coronal loops, for example, can reveal how those magnetic fields dance through the Sun and its atmosphere.” So, I will enjoy the stamps as I think of the dancing magnetic particles.