Art of the Universe: James Webb’s photographs adorned postage stamps

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which has become a sensation in the world of science and astronomy, has inspired the United States Postal Service (USPS) to issue an exclusive series of stamps. 

On January 21, 2025, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp featuring an image of the spiral galaxy NGC 628 taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. Author: USPS

Introduced in January, the two new stamps reflect some of the most breathtaking photographs taken by the space telescope. One shows the spiral galaxy NGC 628, located 32 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pisces. Thanks to a combination of near- and mid-infrared bands, the photo shows gas and dust that glow bright shades of orange and red, as well as spiral shapes with jagged edges. 

Another stamp shows the central part of star cluster IC 348, which is 1,000 light-years away in the constellation Perseus. The fuzzy veils in the image are interstellar material that reflects starlight, creating a reflection nebula effect. 

“James Webb turns science into art, creating deep space images that are filled with valuable scientific data. These images will be studied for decades,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. 

On January 21, 2025, the U.S. Postal Service issued a Priority Mail Express stamp featuring an image of star cluster IC 348 from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Photo: USPS

“NASA science is literally everywhere. These stamps give everyone a chance to hold a piece of space in their hands. I’m especially happy to see my favorite image, the spiral galaxy NGC 628, appear on the stamps. You will travel to the depths of the Universe, even during ordinary letter forwarding,” Fox added.

Through stamps, the U.S. Postal Service reveals the beauty of space and groundbreaking scientific discoveries. They also illustrate the advanced technologies that made these discoveries possible and inspire a new generation of researchers. 

The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, is designed to study the early Universe, the evolution of galaxies, and the processes of star and planet formation.

This is not the first time the USPS has printed images captured by the telescope. Last year, the U.S. Postal Service issued Priority Mail Express stamps with images of the Pillars of Creation.

Earlier we reported on how astronomers revealed the secret behind the small red spots in James Webb’s images.

According to NASA

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