Cosmic postage stamp collection to celebrate bicentenary of RAS

A new set of cosmic postage stamps is being unveiled to “celebrate the UK’s contribution to our understanding of the universe”.

The Visions Of The Universe collection features eight stamps with illustrations of astronomical phenomena capturing “the drama of the universe”.

The stamps are being issued by the Royal Mail to mark the Royal Astronomical Society’s 200th anniversary.

The collection includes the famous Cat’s Eye Nebula, a bright planetary nebula in the constellation of Draco, which was first spotted by British astronomer William Herschel in 1786.

Created by London-based artist Robert Ball, the collection also features Jupiter’s aurora, glowing bluish gas wrapped around the planet’s north pole, and the comet 67P, which belongs to the Jupiter family.

Other celestial objects in the issue are Saturn’s moon Enceladus, with plumes containing water vapour spewing from its surface, and the Cygnus A, a galaxy around 600 million light years away from Earth and a powerful cosmic source of radio waves.

Philip Diamond, executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, said: “I’m delighted that our bicentenary year is marked by a genuine collector’s item combining tradition with contemporary science.”

Philip Parker, a Royal Mail spokesperson, said: “These vivid and beautiful new stamps celebrate the UK’s contribution to our understanding of the Universe, from geysers erupting from one of Saturn’s moons to the extraordinary nature of Black Holes.”

Picture: PA.