The Sky Over Us

The sky God set over you that night.

Tell us the date, the town and, if you know it, the time. We compute the sky exactly as it stood over that place at that minute: the stars down to the faintest the eye can see, the constellations, the moon at its real phase and the planets where they were. Then we set your names beneath it in the style of an engraved plate and frame it.

It is not a pattern of pretty dots. Look up the same night in a planetarium app and the stars, moon and planets are where we put them.

Two ways to have it

• Framed canvas (our pick): your sky printed on canvas, 344 g/m2, in a pine frame 1.25 in deep with the canvas floating inside it. Black, white or brown frame. Hanging hardware attached, rubber pads on the back corners. 16 x 20, 18 x 24 or 24 x 36 inches.
• Framed print: your sky on thick matte paper, 189 g/m2, in a wood frame 0.75 in deep with an acrylic front. No mat. Black, white or oak (oak in the US only). Hanging hardware included. 12 x 16, 18 x 24 or 24 x 36 inches.

• The real sky for your date, place and time, any night from 1900 to 2050
• The moon at its true phase and position, with the planets that were up marked by name
• Three styles, each drawn in the style of an antique celestial chart, with a degree ring: Covenant (deep navy with a warm gold ink, printed, not foil), Folio (ink on a cream ground), Midnight (a deep charcoal night, with the stars in their true colors)
• Or choose The Moon: the moon alone, lit exactly as it was that night, craters and all, turned the way it faced your town
• Psalm 19:1 printed around the rim of the chart in every style, in the style of an engraved chart: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”
• Your names, a line of your own, the place, the date and the coordinates
• Add a verse from our short list, write up to two short lines of your own, or leave it off

For your wedding night, an anniversary, the night you met, the night she said yes, the night a child was born.

Questions

How accurate is it?
Every position is computed for your minute and place from the planetary data observatories use. We tested our charts against two independent references: the stars against the International Astronomical Union's SOFA library, and the moon and planets against NASA's JPL Horizons system. Every star lands within a tiny fraction of the width of the smallest printed star.

Are all the stars there?
Covenant and Midnight show every star down to the faintest the eye can see on a dark night, thousands of them. Folio stops half a magnitude short (magnitude 5.5) so every ink dot stays crisp on cream. Where a constellation's name crosses the sky, a few of the faintest step behind its letters, as on a printed star atlas; the brighter stars are never covered.

What if I do not know the time?
Leave it empty and we show the sky at 9:00 PM that evening. We only print a time if you give us one.

Can I use the exact spot, like the church or the beach?
Yes. Pick the nearest town, then paste the exact coordinates from any map app. We print the place however you write it.

Why is the moon bigger than real life?
The real moon would be a dot about a millimetre across on an 18 x 24 print, too small to show its phase. We draw it up to twelve times larger, exactly where it stood and with its real phase; when a planet sat close beside it, we draw it smaller so both show. The moon is always in front, as it is in the sky. If you want the moon itself, choose The Moon.

What if the moon was not up that night?
Then it is not on your star map, because it was not in your sky. The Moon print shows it turned the way it faced your town after dark that night: at your time if it was up, otherwise when it stood highest.

What if our night was close to a new moon?
Within about two days of a new moon, the moon is almost entirely dark: a Moon print would be a dark circle with a hair of light. The preview tells you the phase before you order, and we suggest the whole sky instead.

Which way up is it?
North is at the top and east is on the left, the way the sky looks when you lie on your back with your head to the north. The edge of the circle is the horizon.

We live in the southern hemisphere. Does it work?
Yes. Southern skies are computed the same way, and when the Southern Cross is well up it is drawn, and named wherever there is a clear way to label it.

Which verses can I add?
Wedding or engagement: Song of Songs 3:4, Matthew 19:6, Ecclesiastes 4:12, Ruth 1:16, 1 Corinthians 13:4, Psalm 118:24, 1 John 4:19 or Psalm 147:4. Anniversary: Song of Songs 3:4, Ecclesiastes 4:12, 1 Corinthians 13:4, 1 John 4:19, 1 Corinthians 13:8, Matthew 19:6, Proverbs 18:22 or Psalm 147:4. The night you met: Song of Songs 3:4, Psalm 147:4, Ecclesiastes 3:11, Proverbs 16:9, Psalm 118:23, 1 John 4:19 or Psalm 74:16. A birth: Psalm 139:14, James 1:17, Psalm 147:4, Psalm 139:13, Psalm 127:3, Psalm 74:16 or Genesis 15:5. In memory: Psalm 147:3, Revelation 21:4, 2 Timothy 4:7, Matthew 25:21, Psalm 34:18, Psalm 23:6, John 11:25 or John 14:2. Christmas together or Christmas Eve: Luke 2:11, Luke 2:14 or Matthew 2:10. Born at Christmas: Luke 2:14, Matthew 2:10, Psalm 139:14, James 1:17, Psalm 147:4, Psalm 139:13, Psalm 127:3, Psalm 74:16 or Genesis 15:5. In memory at Christmas: Luke 2:14, Psalm 147:3, Revelation 21:4, 2 Timothy 4:7, Matthew 25:21, Psalm 34:18, Psalm 23:6, John 11:25 or John 14:2. Psalm 19:1 is printed around every chart's rim. All are quoted word for word. Or choose Your own words and write up to two short lines instead. We print them exactly as you type them.

What will I see before I order?
A live preview of your sky as you type, drawn by the same software that makes the print, at lower resolution. The print itself is drawn at 300 dpi. Please check the spelling of the names, the date and the place: each piece is made for you.

Where do you ship, and when will it arrive?
The United States only (free shipping). Each piece is made to order. We email you tracking when it ships, and once it ships it usually arrives in 2 to 7 business days in the US.

Can I return it?
It is made for you, so we cannot take back a change of mind. If it arrives damaged, or we got something wrong, tell us and we will make it right with a replacement or a refund.

Credits. Star positions: Yale Bright Star Catalogue. Constellation figures: d3-celestial (Olaf Frohn, BSD licence). Moon surface: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio. Planetary data: NASA JPL. Place data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).