Star maps / Anniversary star map
An anniversary star map of the night you choose
Pick one night from your years together: the wedding, the first date or the proposal. We print the stars over that spot at about 9 that evening, with your names and the date.
Print from $39, framed from $89. Free US shipping.
Design your anniversary star mapYou see the exact poster before you pay. Further down: how the moon and the planets move between anniversaries.
What is printed on an anniversary star map
Each poster is drawn for one place and one date. The design in the photo is called Our star.
- The sky that nightThe real sky over your place at about 9 that evening, local sun time: every star brighter than magnitude 5.8 from the Yale Bright Star Catalog, with constellation lines.
- Your star, circledThe brightest named star at least 45 degrees up is circled and named, with the line "was shining right above us".
- A small street mapThe streets around the place, with a heart on the spot.
- Names, place and dateUp to 40 characters in script, so "Ava & Leo" or "Mom & Dad" both fit.
The other two designs put a bigger street map in the middle of the sky. Colors: Cream, Sage, Blush, Navy, Noir and Clay.
Five real nights, and their sky in 2026
The dates, places and sky facts are real; the couples are made up. Under each night: the same date this year, at the same hour.
Saturday, July 11, 2015, Millennium Park, Chicago
Say Leo proposed to Ava on an evening walk through the park. They chose that night over the wedding.
Arcturus about 55 degrees up in the southwest, named on the poster. Vega 64 degrees up in the east. A waning crescent moon, 17 percent lit, sat below the horizon at 9 pm.
On July 11, 2026, eleven years on, Arcturus still gets the circle. The moon is a thinner crescent this time, 8 percent lit and again below the horizon. Of the three planets up that evening in 2015 (Venus, Jupiter and Saturn), only Venus is up at 9 pm this year.
Saturday, June 14, 2025, Portland, Oregon
Say you married in Portland and danced until well after dark.
Arcturus 63 degrees high in the south. Vega 46 east, Spica 31 south. The waning gibbous moon, 85 percent lit, had not risen by 9 pm.
Their first anniversary, June 14, 2026, falls on a new moon, so it is a darker night than the wedding. Mars was the planet in the sky at the wedding; this June it is Venus and Jupiter instead.
Saturday, September 18, 2021, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Say you married in Pittsburgh that fall. Deneb was nearly overhead, but Vega is brighter, so Vega is the one circled.
Vega 64 degrees up in the west. Deneb 85 degrees in the north, Altair 56 southwest. A waxing gibbous moon, 96 percent lit, about 30 degrees above the southeast horizon.
On the 5th anniversary, September 18, 2026, Vega is still circled. A first quarter moon, 52 percent lit, hangs 10 degrees up in the southwest. Saturn is up again; Jupiter has moved off and is below the horizon.
Saturday, April 23, 2016, Austin, Texas
Say you married in Austin that spring, with the reception outdoors.
Arcturus 47 degrees high in the east, Pollux 46 in the west. A nearly full waning gibbous moon, 97 percent lit, hung low in the southeast, about 12 degrees up.
Ten years on, April 23, 2026 has a first quarter moon, 50 percent lit, 54 degrees up in the west. Jupiter is up at 9 pm on both nights, though in a different part of the sky.
Saturday, June 16, 2001, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Say you married in Philadelphia in June 2001.
Arcturus at 68 degrees in the south, the highest circled star of these five. Vega 45 east. The moon was a waning crescent, 23 percent lit, and not up at 9 pm.
June 16, 2026 is their silver anniversary. Vega, 45 degrees up on the wedding night, is 25 light-years away, so the light it sent that night gets here around now. A 6 percent crescent sits low in the northwest at 9 pm, and Venus and Jupiter are up where in 2001 it was Mars.
Is the sky on your anniversary the same as on your wedding night?
The stars are. On the same date at 9 pm they stand where they stood that night, give or take about a degree, however many years have passed: at most 0.7 degrees after one year and 1.2 degrees after 60, by the poster's own sky code. A degree is about two widths of the full moon. So a poster dated your wedding night and one dated this year's anniversary show the same stars, and only the date line differs.
The moon and the planets are not. They move against the stars, so on most anniversaries they sit somewhere else. Each one comes back on its own schedule:
| Anniversary | What is back where it was | How close |
|---|---|---|
| Every year | The stars at 9 pm | Within 1.2 degrees |
| 8th, 16th, 24th, 32nd, 40th, 48th and 56th | Venus | 0.5 degrees on the 8th (100 of 100 weddings within 5), 2.7 on the 40th |
| 12th | Jupiter | 3.9 degrees, 91 of 100 within 5 |
| 19th, 38th and 57th | The moon's phase | Within a day on 93 of 100 weddings on the 19th |
| 32nd and 47th | Mars | 3.4 degrees on the 32nd, 3.1 on the 47th |
| 59th | Saturn | 1.4 degrees; close on the 29th and 30th (5.4 and 7.1) |
Measured for weddings on every fifth day from 1966 to 1985, at 9 pm local sun time, the hour the poster uses, with the astronomy-engine library: the typical distance from the spot each one held among the stars on the wedding night. "Within 5" means 5 degrees, about the width of three fingers held at arm's length.
That makes the 19th the anniversary when the moon looks the way it did on your wedding night. Married under a full moon, and the 19th brings a full moon back on that date. On the 8th, Venus is back in the same spot. If it was the bright evening star over your reception, it is the evening star again that night.
The poster draws the stars and the constellation lines, not the moon or the planets. To see those for your wedding night and for this year's date, type both into the free sky on any date tool.
The light from that night
Starlight takes years to get here. The light that left the circled star on your wedding night reaches us on the anniversary that matches its distance in light-years. Which star the poster circles depends on the time of year (over most of the US):
| Wedding date | Circled star | Light-years | Its light from that night arrives on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 22 to Mar 27 | Capella | 43 | the 43rd |
| Mar 28 to Apr 2 | Procyon | 11.5 | between the 11th and the 12th |
| Apr 3 to Apr 22 | Pollux | 34 | the 34th |
| Apr 23 to Jul 26 | Arcturus | 37 | the 37th |
| Jul 27 to Oct 14 | Vega | 25 | the 25th, the silver |
Distances from the Hipparcos satellite (2007 reduction). From mid October to late November the circled star is usually Deneb or Mirfak, hundreds of light-years away or more, so that light is still on its way.
Which night to put on it
One poster holds one night, so start by choosing which.
- The wedding nightThe usual pick. Use the venue, or the town if you married in a backyard.
- The night you metA bar, a dorm, a friend's porch: any address works.
- The first dateThe restaurant or the movie theater, on that evening.
- The proposalThe spot where one of you asked, like Ava and Leo.
- The night you moved inThe first address you shared.
Some couples order two, say the night they met and the wedding, to hang side by side. Those are two separate orders of one poster each. If you are unsure of the exact day, old phone photos keep the date.
For a long marriage, or a gift from the kids to their parents, see the 50th anniversary star map. The editor lists every year back to 1930.
Sizes and prices
Three sizes, each as a print only or in one of eight frames.
| Frame | 12 × 16 in | 18 × 24 in | 24 × 32 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Print only | $39 | $49 | $69 |
| Espresso and gold | $139 | $179 | $279 |
| Black and gold | $139 | $179 | $259 |
| Black | $89 | $119 | $159 |
| White | $89 | $119 | $159 |
| Oak | $89 | $119 | $159 |
| Espresso | $99 | $129 | $169 |
| Driftwood gray | $129 | $169 | $269 |
| Distressed brown and gold | $109 | $149 | $229 |
Shipping is free in the US. Launch prices until Nov 30. You see the price of every size and frame in the editor before you pay.
The 18 × 24 fits over a dresser or a sofa. The 12 × 16 suits a bookshelf.
Shipping, gifting and returns
- Made to order in CaliforniaUS orders arrive in 4 to 8 business days, framed or not, with free shipping and a tracking email the day it ships. Outside the US: print only, 10 to 30 business days. See shipping.
- Sent as a giftPick "This is a gift, ship it straight to them" at checkout. No prices go in the box. On US orders you can add a note of up to 300 characters, printed on a card.
- ReturnsIt carries your names, so a poster that arrived as ordered is not taken back. Damaged or printed wrong: email a photo within 30 days of delivery for a reprint or a full refund. See returns.
Questions
Which night should we put on an anniversary star map?
Most couples use the wedding night. The night you met, the first date or the proposal work the same way.
Do the stars on our anniversary match our wedding night?
Yes: at 9 pm on the same date they stand within about a degree of where they stood that night, in any year. The moon and planets move on, though. The moon's phase comes back on the 19th anniversary, Venus on the 8th and Jupiter on the 12th.
Should the poster carry the wedding date or this year's anniversary date?
Most couples use the wedding date. The stars would be the same either way, within about a degree, so the date line is what tells your story. If you want this year's date, type it in; the editor shows the poster before you pay.
What time of night does the sky show?
About 9 in the evening by local sun time, which is 8:44 to 10:44 pm on the clock in the 11 US cities we checked, later in summer. You cannot pick another hour.
Is the moon drawn on the poster?
No. Only the stars and constellation lines are drawn. The moon notes above describe what was in the sky those nights.
Does an unframed print count as a paper anniversary gift?
Yes, it is thick matte fine art paper, acid free, shipped rolled in a tube. It fits any standard frame of the same size.
Can I check the names before it prints?
Yes. The editor shows the exact file we print, full screen, before you pay. If you spot a typo after ordering, write to studio@meridianplate.com right away and we will correct it until it goes to print.
More star maps
- Design a star map
- See the sky on any date, free
- Christmas star map gift
- Memorial star map
- Engagement star map
- Star map gift for her
- Star map gift for him
- Birth star map
- Wedding star map
- 50th anniversary star map
- Star map of the night we met
- First anniversary: a street map poster
- Paper anniversary: a street map poster
- For her: street map of where you met
- For him: the streets where you first met
- Anniversary street map poster