MaltaPost has announced that the International Year of Astronomy will be commemorated by a EUROPA stamp set. The set, designed by Alexei Pace and Gordon Caruana Dingli, will be issued on Saturday 9th May 2009.

The Euro 0.37 stamp features a portrait of Galileo Galilei by Francesco Boschi and one of Galileo's sketches of the moon set against a starry background including the constellation Orion. The stamp also commemorates the 40 year anniversary of the first manned lunar landing by featuring the Apollo 11 lunar module "Eagle".

The Euro 1.19 stamp shows the great telescope of William Lassell, set up in Malta between 1861 and 1865, against a background of stars showing Nebula M42, which Lassell himself observed on various occasions from Malta.

StampNews.com