United States, Scott #5604, used (o), 2021, Space Science, a set of ten different stamps that celebrates the ongoing study of the sun using digital images from orbiting NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), a spacecraft launched in 2010 to keep a constant watch on the sun from geosynchronous orbit above Earth; the striking colors in these images do not represent the actual colors of the sun as perceived by human eyesight; instead, each image is colorized by NASA according to different wavelengths that reveal and highlight specific features of the sun’s activity; in the set, stamps highlight sunspots, coronal holes, coronal loops, plasma blasts, magnetic fields, and solar flares; heliophysics, the study of the sun and its influence on the planets and space surrounding them, has important implications for our day-to-day lives; the space between the sun and the earth, is full of particles and energy from the constant flow of solar wind emitted by the sun; that space is affected by a complex, ever-changing magnetic fields that influences our entire solar system; increased understanding of the sun helps us better explain and predict its impact not only on Earth’s climate but also on the near-Earth space environment and how it affects sensitive human technology, such as communications systems and satellite electronics; this stamp shows the ‘sun spot’ phenomena, these are temporary spots on the sun's surface that are darker than the surrounding area; they are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibit the convectional movement of heat outward from the sun; individual sunspots or groups of sunspots may last anywhere from a few days to a few months, but eventually decay; they can be small (10 miles in diameter) to large, as in this stamp, down and left from center ( greater than 100,000 miles in diameter); issued as a forever stamp with a counter value of (55¢), flexographic typography printed by the Banknote Corporation of America (BCA) with a foil treatment that adds a glimmer to the stamps, serpentine die cut simulated perforations: 10¾x10½, issued on panes with non-water soluble self-adhesive gum, Scott 2025 catalog value: 40¢; nicely centered (superb), vertical, black-inked, wavy line cancellation down across the left portion of the stamp and over the main image, good perforations, stamp was lifted from its mailing envelope using the Bestine solvent and placed, first on a piece of white paper for color contrast, and then on a piece of black trimmed card stock for an attractive and uniform album appearance; centering, mounting, and unique demand for one of ten scarce internal stamps in the pane, warrants a selling price premium. This is not a 'bait-and-switch;' the stamp you see will be the one you receive.
Please review my terms of sale. If you are not ordering from the United States, there is a $US1.55 additional postage expense that needs to be added to the price of the stamp. If you are ordering from the United States, there is only a $US0.68 added postage expense. Also, if you make additional purchases from my offerings, they can all go in one mailing at no extra shipping expense for the added purchases. I will send the purchase by US first class mail, since the relatively low value of the stamp does not warrant signature or tracking mail. Hence the buyer assumes risk of loss or non-delivery. I will keep a scan of my mailing to verify that the correct mailing address was used. If not satisfied, return the stamp to me at your own expense, and I will refund the cost, but not my postage to you. If the stamp is not as described, I will refund the cost and reimburse you for postage both ways.
By way of reference, I am an American Philatelic Society member (195176) and an American Stamp Dealers Association (ASDA) member. Thank you for looking, and I hope this is the perfect stamp to fill that gap in your collection.