On March 14, Canada Post issued a new commemorative stamp to mark a much-anticipated astronomical phenomenon. On Monday, April 8, the moon’s shadow will turn daylight to darkness for millions of Canadians as a total eclipse of the sun unfolds over parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada.
This stamp is Canada Post’s first one to feature a solar eclipse.
The stamp was designed by Richard Nalli-Petta and illustrated by Michal Karcz. Printed by Colour Innovations, the issue includes 200,000 booklets of 10 Permanent domestic rate stamps and 6,000 Official First-Day Covers cancelled in Niagara Falls, Ont. – one of the first Canadian cities on the eclipse’s path of totality.
It will be the only time this century that the path of a total solar eclipse will cross parts of North America’s three largest countries.
In Canada, the awe-inspiring spectacle – which won’t be visible again until 2044 – will trace a path of darkness, called the path of totality, across parts of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.
Once considered an evil omen, a total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun in such a way that it blocks the face of the sun from view. The event unfolds over approximately two hours. However, it peaks in a few precious minutes of totality when the sun is completely obscured and the ghostly glow from its chromosphere and corona frames a perfect moon silhouette.
The stamp image depicts the sun at the moment of totality as well as a line showing the eclipse’s path from its entrance point in southwestern Ontario to its exit point in eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. Across the bottom of the stamp is a photomontage of land formations along the path of totality, including Ontario’s Niagara Falls, New Brunswick’s Hopewell Rocks, and Spillars Cove in Newfoundland and Labrador.