On April 29, four postage stamps dedicated to constellations were put into postal circulation



A constellation is a conditional section of the starry sky with defined boundaries that contains a distinctive group of stars. The current system of the International Astronomical Union comprises 88 official constellations, of which 12 are zodiacal and 76 are non-zodiacal ones.

The first maps of the starry sky were compiled in ancient times in Babylon, Egypt, Greece and China. For ancient peoples, constellations were of practical significance: they helped people to orient themselves in time and space, predict changes of seasons and weather conditions. With the spread of marine navigation, constellations became indispensable navigational aids.

Ursa Major is the most well-known and one of the largest constellations in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a circumpolar constellation and is observable above the horizon at any time. The stars in the Constellation form a so-called Big Dipper; this kind of easily visible groups of stars are referred to asterisms.

Ursa Minor is also a circumpolar constellation visible above the horizon at all times. It resembles the Ursa Major in configuration, but is smaller in size and consists of only 25 stars. The last star in its tail, the Polar star, indicates a precise northward direction.

Boötes is a fairly large constellation in the Northern Hemisphere, described in the catalog of the 2nd-century astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, The Almagest. It has been known since the times of Babylon and ancient Egypt, and in terms of its area, Boötes ranks 13th among all modern constellations and contains 149 stars.

The Canes Venatici constellation is located in the Northern Hemisphere and amounts to 50 stars that are visible to the naked eye. Regarding the area, the Canes Venatici constellation occupies the 38th place among modern constellations. The first to describe it in detail was Polish astronomer Jan Heweliusz, who lived in the 17th century.

The postage stamps feature constellations of the Northern Hemisphere: Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Canes Venatici, and Boötes.

In addition to the issue of the postage stamps, JSC Marka produced First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd and Yaroslavl as well as an illustrated cover with the postage stamps and a label inside.


Design Artist: I. Ulyanovsky.
Face value: 65 rubles each stamp.
Stamp size: 37×37 mm, sheet size: 94×94 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins with 4 (2×2) stamps (a block of four).
Quantity: 25 thousand each stamp (25 thousand sheets).

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