apollo moon

There will be a total lunar eclipse today at noon CET ... which will be completely invisible to everyone in Europe.  

this full moon is otherwise known as a blood moon

(and, yes, I did get up to watch it) 

magyar

The moon that Luna 1 missed in 1959. The Soviets expected the Luna 1 to impact the moon, but instead became the first human made object to orbit the sun, where it continues today (between the sun and mars)

Medieval authors called the country by the Latin name Ungaria and later Hungaria, but the Hungarians even today call themselves Magyars and their homeland Magyarország (ország means country in Hungarian).  

Maybe travelling closer to home, Lake Balaton, the largest lake in central Europe, and a favourite tourist destination.  One feature of the area is an echo that could be heard from a certain point from the sound bouncing off the wall of the abbey.  Today, with all the newer construction it is less evident.  There was a famous poem written about this phenomena by Janos Garay and I wonder if that is what the mysterious paper and feather (pen?) indicates?

calligraphy

 

the comic font of NIPPON suits the comic design of this stamp

I'm not sure about this attempt to join the letters of GRENADA

and my favourite country for calligraphy on stamps CZECHOSLOVAKIA
 

 

some fancy writing for Sunday Stamps

moonwalker

 

The Lunokhod, a Soviet rover, and the first roving remote controlled robot to land on the moon.

An extraterrestrial escape from earth

for Sunday Stamps - your choice

inside, outside

It would have been around 1978, when this stamp came out, that I first joined a quilting bee. It did not go well. I so admire the work these quilters can create. And the patience they have to get it done!

In 1965, Alexei Leonov became the first person to do a spacewalk. The map of earth behind him is interesting, and probably not at all as he saw it.

for Sunday Stamps - stamps from the 1900s

writing

Czechoslovakian stamps come first to mind when thinking of unusual and interesting typefaces 

from the cosmonaut series with Gagarin of 1964

 to the flower series with a chrysanthemum of 1973

 

 

 

 

 

 

for Sunday Stamps - fonts and typefaces

valentina

Valentina Tereshkova

first woman in space

luna

It was thought that anything like a lander might sink into the dust surface of the moon, but on the 31st of January, 1966, the Luna 9 was launched and 4 days later made its landing proving that the moon was capable of supporting the weight. This stamp shows the lander and its first panorama photograph of the surface of the moon.

for Sunday Stamps - science related

Sunday Stamps II - 137

1971, USSR, Space Exploration

The Lunokhod - "Moonwalker" - was a robotic lunar rover, and this stamp shows the Lunokhod 1, the first remote controlled rover which landed on the moon in 1970. It has a rather cartoonish look here, which I love.  On the lid is a solar cell for powering the batteries. It landed on Sea of Rains and travelled 6.5 miles during its 322 day sojourn. No one knew exactly where it was when the final signals failed, but in 2010 A NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter found it and found that the reflectors are still useful.

for stars, moon or planets

Sunday Stamps II - 111

1992 Canada in Space

The Anik E2 telecommunications satellite was launched in 1991 and retired in 2005.  The first Anik was launched in 1972 as the first geostationary communications satellites in the world. The name means little brother in Inuktitut. The stamp design shows earth form space and a remote sensing photograph of an are near Quebec City.

for outer space

For the month of February, I thought we'd take a trip to the four corners of the world. 
Any stamp theme from any country that is located in that week's hemisphere.

Sunday Stamps II -13

First Day Cover 1962 for 5th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4th 1957. 

The space age began with the Soviet Union having the first man made object in space and the first satellite to orbit the earth. Sputnik was a metal sphere, 23" in diameter with four external radio antennae and weighing 184lbs. Each orbit took 96 minutes and the signal went on for 21 days until the batteries ran out.

for next week's theme of islands, let's make it a bit more challenging by saying that Great Britain does not count.

for time of exploration: space