US Postal Service Stamps Feature Iconic NASA Webb Images, Key Details Here

The US Postal Service, on 22 January 2024, unveiled two new stunning Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail-rate postage stamps celebrating NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Webb is a mission led by NASA in partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) that has put the largest, most powerful, and most complex science telescope ever in space. 

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Sealed with stardust ✨
@USPS has issued 2 new stamps celebrating the Webb Telescope. The first is a Priority Mail Express stamp of the “Cosmic Cliffs” in the Carina Nebula; the second is a Priority Mail stamp of the Pillars of Creation in mid-infrared: https://t.co/pC5mAk3h4d pic.twitter.com/WJE6LpitWV

— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) January 22, 2024

US Postal Service Stamps Feature Iconic NASA Webb Images

The stamps showcase the breathtaking images captured by Webb since its historic launch on 25 December 2021. As per NASA, these new stamps join a Forever stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2022, featuring an artist’s digital illustration of Webb against a background of stars.

Cosmic Cliffs

US Priority Mail Express stamp of the “Cosmic Cliffs”; Image: NASA

The first stamp, a Priority Mail Express stamp, features a true marvel: Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image of the "Cosmic Cliffs" in the Carina Nebula. This breathtaking vista, located roughly 7,600 light-years away, was one of the first full-colour images revealed from the Webb telescope in July 2022. The image showcases a previously hidden world of emerging stellar nurseries and individual stars.

This image not only dazzles with its beauty but also serves as a powerful testament to the telescope's ability to peer through the universe's dusty veils, shedding new light on the mysterious process of star formation.

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Pillars of Creation

US Priority Mail stamp of the “Pillars of Creation”; Image: NASA

The second stamp, a Priority Mail stamp, features an equally magnificent scene: Webb's MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) view of the “Pillars of Creation”, nestled within the vast Eagle Nebula 6,500 light-years away. This familiar landscape was made famous by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Webb telescope reveals the pillars bursting with gas and dust, enveloping newborn stars slowly forming over millennia.

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