Overview

This stamp commemorates the total solar eclipse that will occur over parts of Canada on Monday, April 8, 2024.

It is the only time this century that the path of a total solar eclipse will cross parts of North America’s three largest countries – Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Good to know

• Booklet of 10 Permanent™ domestic rate stamps.
• This stamp – issued in advance of the total solar eclipse that will occur on April 8, 2024 – marks the first time that Canada Post has issued a stamp featuring a solar eclipse.
• This total solar eclipse is significant in that it is the only time this century that the path of such an eclipse will cross parts of North America’s three largest countries – Mexico, the United States and Canada. America.
• Previous Canada Post issues related to astronomy include the International Year of Astronomy (2009), which featured images of the Eagle and Horsehead nebulas, and Astronomy (2018), which featured images of the Milky Way and the Northern Lights and marked the 150th anniversary of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

About the issue

This stamp commemorates the total solar eclipse that will occur over parts of Canada on Monday, April 8, 2024.

The main image on the stamp, created through a combination of photography and illustration, shows the sun at the moment of totality during a total solar eclipse.

Set against the backdrop of a darkened sky, the stamp image also features a metallic silver line depicting the path of the eclipse 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 the totality, including Niagara Falls and the rocky shores of Newfoundland’s east coast.

About the eclipse

The shadow of the moon will turn daylight to darkness for millions of Canadians on April 8, as the path of a total solar eclipse crosses parts of North America’s three largest countries – Mexico, the United States and Canada – for the first and only time this century.

In Canada, the awe-inspiring phenomenon – which won’t be seen here again until 2044 – will trace a path of darkness, called the path of totality, from southwestern Ontario to eastern Newfoundland and Labrador.

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. While many eclipses take place over uninhabited regions, this one will pass over populated areas in six provinces, as well as many other parts of the continent. A total solar eclipse leads to a brief period of darkness along its path of totality (an approximately 200-kilometre-wide path of darkness). The closer to the centre of the path of totality, the longer the period of totality (for the 2024 total solar eclipse, up to 4.5 minutes). Outside the path of totality, a partial eclipse will be seen.

During a total solar eclipse, temperatures drop suddenly, and most animals and birds react as if it is night (e.g., bees and ants return to their nests, diurnal birds return to their roosts, nocturnal birds become noisy and active, bats start flying and hunting, crickets chirp).

The 2024 total solar eclipse will begin over the South Pacific Ocean and pass through parts of Mexico and the contiguous United States before entering Canada in southwestern Ontario. It will pass through parts of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes before exiting North America on the eastern coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

If the weather is clear, people will be able to see the total eclipse in Canadian locations such as the Niagara Region and Kingston in Ontario; Montréal and Sherbrooke in Quebec; Fredericton and Miramichi in New Brunswick; Meat Cove in Nova Scotia; Summerside and Cavendish in Prince Edward Island; and Gander and Bonavista in Newfoundland and Labrador.

What was once considered an evil omen by some now draws crowds from around the world. The spectacle unfolds over approximately two hours but peaks in only a few precious minutes of totality when the sun is completely obscured and the ghostly glow from the sun’s chromosphere and corona frames a perfect silhouette of the moon.

About the design

The booklet cover features a close-up of the eclipse shown on the stamp. The inside of the booklet lists the start and end times of the entire eclipse event and the start and end times of totality at one location in each of the six provinces where the total eclipse will be seen.

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