Star Cluster Stamps

2025 Star Cluster

2025 Priority Mail Express stamp
Celebrates America’s deep space exploration
Image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

Stamp Category: Definitive
Value: $31.40, Priority Mail Express Rate
First Day of Issue: January 21, 2025
First Day City: Big Sky, Montana
Printing Method: Offset, Microprint
Format: Pane of 4

History the stamp represents: Star cluster IC 348 is a young (2-3 million years old) region of star formation located about 1,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Perseus. It is tucked away in the Perseus Molecular Cloud and is an active stellar nursery where new stars are born.

IC 348 is especially interesting due to the diversity of its star population. Many of the cluster’s stars are low-mass (similar or smaller in size than our Sun), but it also hosts a few massive, bright stars. This young cluster is a thriving area of scientific study due to the presence of protoplanetary disks. These structures are swirling disks of gas and dust surrounding young stars. They can eventually form planets, so astronomers watch them closely to gain insights into the early stages of planetary system formation. Brown dwarfs are also of great interest to astronomers. These objects are too massive to be considered planets, but not quite large enough to be fully fledged stars. Astronomers study them to learn more about star formation and the lower limits of stellar mass.

Visible primarily in infrared light due to the thick dust and gas clouds in the region, IC 348 fascinates both amateur astronomers and professionals. They all hope this star cluster will help them unravel the mysteries of stellar and planetary evolution.