Skip to content
StarMap
Your StarMapMenu

Anniversary star maps

Anniversary star map: the sky the night it all began

Every anniversary has a first night: the evening you met, the walk home, the first dance, the minute one of you asked. The stars over that place at that hour were arranged one way and never that way again. An anniversary star map draws them as they stood, with the Moon and planets where they were, and beneath the circle a line of your own, the date, the place and its coordinates.

Enter the date, the time as near as you know it and the place, and watch the sky appear. The preview is free; the poster comes as a file to print anywhere or as an 18 × 24 inch print, framed or not.

Example anniversary star map: the sky over Lisbon, Portugal at 7:45 pm on 14 June 2014, headed Sam and Alex, twelve yearsExample
Example: the sky over Lisbon at 7:45 pm on 14 June 2014, an invented first evening, headed with the couple's names and the years since.

Set in capitals above the date, up to 60 characters. Leave it empty and the date takes its place.

How you would like it

Paid once. No account needed: the private link is yours to keep. Prices in US dollars.

How it is drawn

  • The circle is the whole sky overhead, with the horizon as its edge: north at the top and east on the left, as it looks when you lie on your back and look up.
  • Every star down to magnitude 6.5 is in it, the brightest named, with the Moon and the planets that were above the horizon at that minute.
  • Rings mark 30 and 60 degrees above the horizon, and a small cross the point straight overhead.
  • The same drawing makes the preview, the digital files and the print, so what you see here is what you receive, without the preview mark.

Questions

Which date should an anniversary star map show?
Whichever night you count from: the day you met, the first date or the wedding. Couples often choose the night they met, because no other keepsake marks it. The map takes any date from 1800 to 2100.
What should the line at the top say?
Both names and the number of years is the usual choice, or the words one of you said. It is set in capitals above the date, so a short line reads best; the date and the place are printed beneath it in any case.
Can I order it for a friend's anniversary?
Yes. The digital star map arrives as a private link you can forward, and a print can be shipped straight to their address, which checkout asks for.
What if I do not know the exact time?
The sky overhead turns a full circle every day, about fifteen degrees an hour, so a star map is drawn for one minute and an order needs a time. If you know it roughly (morning, just after midnight), enter your best guess: it is closer than any default. Without a time the free preview shows the sky at midday, labelled as such.
How long can the line at the top be?
Up to 60 characters, set in capitals above the date. A long line takes a second line at a smaller size rather than being cut short; words the poster cannot set whole are refused before payment, never shortened.
How is a print delivered?
Prints are not on sale yet. The digital star map is ready as soon as it is paid for, on a private page with the files to download.

Other occasions

Every star map is the same drawing of the real sky; these pages introduce it for other days. For any other date, the custom star map takes a date from 1800 to 2100 and any place.