posted 04-13-2019 12:26 PM               

New Zealand Space Pioneers

Immersed in a clear, unpolluted southern sky, from New Zealand we have more stars and galaxies accessible to the naked eye than in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It is not surprising then that for most of New Zealand's history, the lines between professional and amateur astronomers have been blurred. It is in this spirit that New Zealanders have helped to advance the world's knowledge about space and space sciences.

These fun stamps celebrate six of New Zealand's astronomers, cosmologists, discoverers and rocket scientists. They have been topped off with a sprinkling of crushed meteorite and together form a rocket ship shape in a se-tenant strip.

• $1.20 Beatrice Hill Tinsley

  Pioneer astrophysicist Beatrice Hill Tinsley was a world-leader in modern cosmology. Her 114 published papers are regularly cited today, showing her ongoing contribution to understanding the Universe. Mt Tinsley in Fiordland was named in her honour.

• $1.20 Alan Gilmore and Pamela Kilmartin

  Active comet and nova-hunters, Alan Gilmore and Pamela Kilmartin discovered 41 minor planets. They also established a programme for tracking near-Earth asteroids and southern comets from New Zealand. Alan is also a member of the prestigious International Astronomical Union.

• $2.40 Charles Gifford

  Charles Gifford was New Zealand's most outstanding astronomer in the first half of the 20th century. Using mathematics, he showed that the Moon's craters were made by meteorite impact.

• $3.00 Albert Jones, OBE

  Albert Jones made more visual brightness estimates than anyone in history. With a telescope he built in 1948, he looked at more than 500,000 stars, and discovered two comets and a supernova.

• $3.60 William Pickering, ONZ KBE

  Pioneer of world's space exploration, William Pickering launched America's first spacecraft. He was instrumental in the success of the Apollo programme and the Voyager missions and retired to see Viking 1 on its way to Mars. Mount Pickering Summit, in Fiordland, was named in his honour.

3D Lenticular Miniature Sheet

This mesmerising 3D lenticular miniature sheet is a celebration of the world's achievements in space exploration. The four stamps feature spacecraft Voyager 1, which reached interstellar space; the Space Shuttle, America's reusable spacecraft which launched many satellites including the Space Station; the first Moon walk on 20 July 1969; and the lightweight craft Apollo Lunar Module, used to transport astronauts to the Moon's surface. The Solar System, a comet, nebula and the galaxy with exoplanets, and New Zealand's history-making Electron rocket by Rocket Lab form the background to the stamp sheet.

Presentation Pack

Learn more about New Zealand's contribution to the space sciences with commentary from Museums Wellington Senior Science Communicator Haritina Mogoșanu. This pack includes a first day cover, a 3D lenticular miniature sheet and a setenant strip of five stamps.