United States, Scott #5602, 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 is the first of the two stamps in the set that shows one of the ‘plasma blasts', this at the right side, up from middle, on the stamp image;’ the sun is made up of a number of different parts; one of the most well-known is the corona, which refers to the layer of plasma that surrounds the sun and extends hundreds of thousands of miles into space, and which has a temperature of more than 1.8 million degrees fahrenheit; a phenomena in the corona is the periodic existence ‘plasma blasts,’ which are large expulsions of plasma (coronal mass ejections) noted on the sun's surface; these can eject billions of tons of coronal material and can carry with it an embedded, frozen flux, magnetic field that shows vividly against the normal solar wind; 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), horizontal, black-inked, wavy line cancellation across the top half 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.
