While next month's rare solar eclipse will black-out the sun for only a few short minutes, it will live on forever in the form of a new commemorative stamp.
Canada Post unveiled the stamp marking the much-anticipated astronomical phenomenon on Thursday. It depicts the sun at the moment the moon will be perfectly between it and the Earth on April 8, as well as a line showing 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 an array of landscapes the eclipse will pass over including Niagara Falls, New Brunswick’s Hopewell Rocks, and Spillars Cove in Newfoundland and Labrador.
One of the stamp's most unique features is a special gloss that allows it to glow under a black light.
This is the first time Canada Post has released a stamp featuring a solar eclipse. The decision to commemorate the upcoming total eclipse was made as the "awe-inspiring spectacle" won’t be visible in Canada again until 2044, Canada Post said.
The stamp and collectibles can be purchased online at canadapost.ca and at postal outlets across the country.
The rare celestial event has prompted numerous school boards across the province to shift a scheduled professional activity (PA) day as the peak of the eclipse is expected to occur around school dismissal time.
Anyone hoping to catch a glimpse of the eclipse is advised by the Canadian Association of Optometrists to use a viewer that meets international standard ISO 12312-2. Alternatively, a pinhole projector can be used, but viewers must only watch the screen, not the sun, and never look at the sun through the pinhole. Looking at the sun without proper protection can cause serious eye damage.
There has not been a total solar eclipse in Canada since February 1979.
