Philately

This Special Task Group will create and maintain a global philatelic checklist of postal authority releases generated in celebration of the IYA2009 and/or astronomy in general.

Task Group
Co-chairs: Michael Howell ( mhowell@alamo.edu ) & John Budd ( jwgbudd@earthlink.net )

Objective
Create and maintain a global philatelic checklist of postal authority releases generated in celebration of the IYA 2009 and/or astronomy in general, as well as, historical philatelic items, which would serve to document/illustrate the long historical connection between astronomy and philately.

It can be assumed with some degree of certainty that there will be a variety of philatelic materials generated to commemorate IYA2009 specifically or feature astronomy as a theme or topic, in general. A list of such materials would likely include:

Items specific to the recognition of the IYA2009.
Commemorative stamps to honor special anniversaries (such as the 400th anniversary of Galileo's use of the telescope).
Conspicuous astronomical events (such as the 2009 solar eclipse).
And a wide variety of ancillary items such as special postmarks - cover cache artworks – souvenir sheets – etc. that would depict events or items directly astronomy related (such as – local star parties, promotion of dark skies, persons with direct contributions or supportive influences in the field of astronomy, observatories, planetariums, and archaeoastronomy sites or artifacts to name but a few). Additionally, the prospects for interdisciplinary connections that relate back to astronomy are quite extensive.

The science of astronomy can and has been readily promoted by the collection and study of the various materials generated by the postal authorities, clubs, associations and societies the world over.

The hobby of philately has a long history of being capable of generating interest in a variety of specialty topics and serving as valuable teaching tools, especially to young enthusiasts. The hobby of philately has the capabilities of crossing a varied array of boundaries that include (but are not limited to) age, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic position and level of education.

Deliverables
The site would serve as a centralized point of contact for enthusiasts and the curious to visit and be able to view samples of the various issues available and/or planned. It would contain schedules of pending releases. It would provide information about the items featured.

It is envisioned as an interactive site wherein postal authorities could submit their announcements for related releases and enthusiasts would be able to follow links to various sites that offer the items for sale and/or submit items of their own local interest for inclusion.

Implementation
If approved for forward activity, establish a format for the web interface, gather and organise historical graphics and data. Work with IYA2009 webmasters to build the interface, gather and include materials and test links offline.

Timeline and Milestones

At the earliest appropriate time, formulate an official announcement of the portal and its purpose.
Continue to solicit submission of and actively seek out relevant materials from all member nations and the general public.
January 01, 2009 - open the website for viewing, with its complement of graphics and text promoting the long history and association between astronomy and philately with announcements and information collected to date.
Perform ongoing review of material as it arrives, posting that which best fulfills the goals of the IYA2009 programme and updated the page/s accordingly.
December 31, 2009 - close the portal.

Downloads
Report (Mar 08) (pdf)

IYA2009 Philatelic Release Calendar: http://www.astronomystudyunit.com/IYA2009_philately_calendar.html

Links
Ian Ridpath's Astro Stamp index: http://www.ianridpath.com/stamps/stampindex.htm
Maiken Naylor's SCI-PHILATELY: http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/exhibits/stamps/
American Topical Association - Astronomy Study Unit: http://www.astronomystudyunit.com/
Europa-CEPT: http://europa-cept.blogspot.com/

Special Task Group - Philately webpage: http://www.astronomystudyunit.com/phil_astro.html