Upcoming rare August solar eclipse inspires US postal agency to issue colour-changing stamps!

New Delhi: The United States is about to witness a rare celestial spectacle in August this year, when for the first time in 38 years, the moon will completely block the solar disk for a few minutes, creating a total eclipse of the Sun.

To mark the rare event, the US postal agency is issuing a first-of-its-kind postage stamp that morphs when touched – changing from the image of a total solar eclipse to that of the moon.

Conceived by graphic designer Antonio Alcala, the colour-changing stamp features two layers of photographs.

The first image depicts a picture of a total eclipse observed in Libya in 2006.

When the warmth of your finger touches the black dot, an image of a full moon emerges.

The commemorative stamp uses special temperature-sensitive inks, 'The Quartz' reported.

On the back of the sheet of stamps, a map of the eclipse's shadow path, which will traverse 14 states as it moves east, from Oregon to South Carolina.

The Total Solar Eclipse stamps go on sale on June 20.

(With PTI inputs)