Used with
permission of Maiken Naylor, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA,
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/sel/exhibits/stamps
The International Geophysical Year 1957 is noted on the U.S. stamp below with solar flares and a nod to Michelangelo's creation of man from the Sistine Chapel. Solar flares are best observed during a total solar eclipse, as is the corona (center). The corona extends thousands of miles, 30 solar radii, beyond the surface of the sun and changes in shape with sun spot activity. It is highly ionized and reaches temperatures of more than one million degrees K.