The Sky Over Us, Unframed Print

The sky God set over you that night, for your own frame.

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.

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.

What you get

• 18 x 24 in (46 x 61 cm), unframed, printed on thick matte paper, 189 g/m²
• It arrives rolled in a protective tube, ready for your own frame
• 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), 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
• Psalm 19:1 printed around the rim of the chart in every style: “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

It came rolled. How do I flatten it?
Unroll it on a clean, flat surface and hold each corner down with a book. Thick paper can take a few days to lie flat. Once it is in a frame, the frame holds it flat.

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.

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.

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.

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?
The United States, with free shipping. Each piece is made to order. We email you tracking when it ships.

Can I return it?
It is made for you, so we cannot take back a change of mind. If it arrives damaged or creased, or we got something wrong, tell us within 30 days of delivery 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).