IYA 2009 stamp issues again

This IYA topic has really got me interested in stamps again, and in astronomy. How interesting and there is so much to read. Tonight’s stamps. Well I found these I liked from Croatia and these from Canada. I had hoped to find the issue from Cyprus but I have not been able to track it down. The Croatia issue is quite stunning I think and certainly one for those of you who also collect shaped stamps. I could not find any details about the stamps. Please let me know if you have any details you can send to me to share with other readers.
The Canadian stamps are also quite amazing. When you read the details about them I think they become even more interesting. In simple terms each stamp pairs an important Canadian observatory with a nebula.
One stamp features the National Research Council’s Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) in Saanich, BC. Completed in 1918, the DAO was the first Canadian observatory of international calibre and, for a brief period, it was the largest operating telescope in the world. It is pictured before the Horsehead Nebula, a cloud of cold gas and dust silhouetted against bright, swirling gases in the constellation of Orion.
The other stamp features the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). This world-class 3.6 metre telescope is located atop the summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano rising 4,200 metres above the Pacific Ocean. Opened in 1979, the highly-successful CFHT is Canada’s first partnership in an international observatory, in this case between the University of Hawaii, France’s Centre national de la recherche scientifique, and the National Research Council of Canada. The observatory is featured before the Eagle Nebula, a massive tower of cold gas and dust in the constallation of Serpens. Both nebulae were photographed by Jean-Charles Cuillandre with the CFHT.
Acknowledgement to Canada Post for the details on the Canada IYA 2009 issue.
More tomorrow I hope. Enjoy your stamps …. Michael