Star maps / Birth
A birth star map of the night they were born
Type the town or the hospital and the date they arrived. We print the stars as they stood over that spot that evening, with their name and the date beneath. The weight fits on the name line too.
Print from $39, framed from $89. Free US shipping.
Design a birth star mapYou see the finished poster before you pay. Any date from 1930 on.
What is printed on it
The poster above is an example we made for a baby we called Nora, born in Boulder, Colorado, on January 18, 2026. It is our "The whole night" design in Blush, 12 × 16 in, in the white frame.
- The sky over that placeEvery star brighter than magnitude 5.8, with the constellation lines, as they stood that evening.
- A small street mapThe streets around the spot you type, with a heart on it: the hospital, the birth center or your street.
- One line for the nameUp to 40 characters. "Nora James, 7 lb 4 oz" fits, and so does "Nora James, 7 lb 4 oz, 20 in". Weight and length go in that line; the time of birth is not printed.
- The place and the datePrinted in small capitals under the name. You can shorten the place to the town.
- Three designs, six colors"The whole night" fills the poster with the sky. "Our star" circles the brightest star high overhead and names it. "Under the stars" prints the words "Under the same stars" above the name. Colors: Cream, Sage, Blush, Navy, Noir or Clay.
What time of night is printed
Every poster shows the sky at about 9 in the evening, by the sun at that place, on the date you type. You cannot pick another hour, and you do not need to know the time of birth. What that means for a baby:
- Born in the daytimeThis is most babies. On US birth certificates for 2013, the busiest hours were 8 am, with 6.3 percent of hospital births, and noon, with 6.0 percent. Every hour from midnight to 7 am had less than 3 percent (CDC, NCHS Data Brief 200). For a daytime baby the poster shows the stars that came out over them at nightfall, their first night.
- Born after midnight, before dawnType the date on the birth certificate, the day they will celebrate. The poster shows the evening of that day, their first full night. If you typed the day before instead, the stars would sit about one degree away, too little to see, but the wrong date would be printed under them.
- Born in the late eveningType that date. The poster shows the sky from an hour or two before they arrived. The sky turns about 15 degrees an hour, and the bright stars overhead at 9 are mostly still up at midnight.
Hospital or home
Type whichever place you want on the wall. Inside one city the stars barely move: we drew the same night over a hospital in Denver and a home in Boulder, about 25 miles apart, and the two skies sit about a quarter of a degree apart, half the width of the full moon. Drive 69 miles north and the sky shifts by one degree.
The street map is what changes. Type the hospital's name or address and the heart sits on the hospital. Type your street and it sits on the house they came home to.
Which star the poster circles for each birth month
On the "Our star" design the poster circles the brightest named star at least 45 degrees up and prints its name. We ran the poster's own code for every day of the year over nine cities, from Seattle to Miami. Mostly it comes down to the month:
| Born in | Star | Light birthday | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Capella | 43 | Every night of the month. |
| February | Capella | 43 | Miami gets Sirius instead, from about January 31 to March 2. |
| March | Capella | 43 | Procyon from about March 28. |
| April | Pollux | 34 | Procyon in the first days, Arcturus from about April 23. |
| May to July | Arcturus | 37 | Every night until about July 27, then Vega. |
| August, September | Vega | 25 | Both months, every night. |
| October | Vega, then Deneb | 25 | Deneb from about October 15. Miami and Houston get Altair for a week or so before that. Deneb is so far away that its distance is still argued over. |
| November | Deneb, Mirfak, then Capella | 43 for Capella | Deneb to about November 17, Mirfak for a few nights, Capella from about November 22. In Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami, Mirfak takes over in early or mid November and holds to about November 26. |
| December | Capella | 43 | Every night in nearly all cities. |
The light birthday is the distance in light-years, from the Hipparcos satellite measurements. The light that left Vega on the night they were born reaches us around their 25th birthday; for Capella, around their 43rd. Near each change-over the star can depend on the city, and the editor shows the exact one for your place and date before you pay.
Nora's night, and her brother's
Over Boulder on January 18, 2026 there was no moon at all. It was a new moon, so the sky was as dark as it gets. Capella stood 83 degrees up, almost straight overhead, so the "Our star" poster circles it. Orion was up in the southeast, with Betelgeuse 55 degrees up and Rigel 42, and Sirius, the brightest star of the night, was 28 degrees up. See that night in our free sky tool.
Her example big brother Leo was born in the same town on July 9, 2022. A summer night circles another star: Arcturus, 57 degrees up in the southwest, with Vega 62 degrees up in the east and a waxing moon, 82 percent lit.
In the same design and size the two read as a pair on one wall while each keeps its own star. Each poster is ordered on its own.
Twins
Twins born on the same day share one sky. Order the same poster twice, one with each name, or one poster with both names on the line.
Twins born either side of midnight have two dates. A day later the sky has turned about one degree, so the two posters look the same apart from the date. We checked every pair of days in a year over the nine cities: the poster circles the same star on 98 percent of them.
For a nursery
- Acrylic, not glassEvery frame has clear acrylic in front, the print mounted on foam board, and a sawtooth hanger on the back. It arrives assembled.
- Where to hang itOn a wall away from the crib rather than above it, as with any frame.
- Which sizeA 12 × 16 sits on a dresser or a shelf. An 18 × 24 fills the wall over a changing table. A 24 × 32 holds a wall on its own.
- Colors that suit a nurseryCream, Sage and Blush print as soft as they look on screen. Navy and Noir make a dark night sky.
When to order, and sending it to the parents
- After the baby is hereThe poster needs the date, and we do not sell gift cards. For a shower gift, order on the day the news comes in.
- Straight to their doorAt checkout, tick "This is a gift, ship it straight to them" and type their address. No prices go in the box.
- A note from youUp to 300 characters, printed on a card and packed with the poster (US orders).
- When it arrives4 to 8 business days in the US: 2 to 3 in the lab, 2 to 5 with the carrier. Weekends and US holidays are not counted. Outside the US we send the print without a frame, 10 to 30 business days. See shipping.
For a grown-up's birthday
The same poster works for a 30th or a 70th: type the town they were born in and their birthday. Dates go back to 1930, and an unknown birth time does not matter. Our free sky on any date page shows the moon and the planets over any birthday too.
Sizes and prices
Each size and frame carries the same poster.
| 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.
Returns
A poster with a name that arrived as ordered is not taken back. Damaged or printed wrong: email a photo within 30 days of delivery and we reprint or refund in full. See returns.
Questions
Do I need the time of birth?
No. We draw every poster for about 9 pm local sun time, whatever hour the baby came, and no birth time appears on it. If nobody wrote the time down, nothing is lost.
The baby was born after midnight. Which date do I type?
Use their birthday as it reads on the certificate. The poster then carries the right date and shows the sky of the evening after they arrived. The night before would look almost identical, but it would print the wrong day.
Can it show the weight and length?
Yes, as part of the name. Leo Park, 8 lb 1 oz, 21 in is 26 of the 40 characters allowed. Weight and length have no fields of their own.
Hospital or our home: which place should I type?
Pick the spot you want the heart on. A Denver hospital instead of a Boulder home moves the stars by 0.28 degrees, so the sky looks the same either way.
We have twins. Do they get two posters?
Same birthday means one sky: order two copies with one name each, or a single poster with both names. Birthdays either side of midnight give two skies a degree apart, and the circle lands on the same star for 98 percent of such pairs.
Can I order before the baby is born?
No. The poster can't be made without the date, and our shop has no gift cards. Once the baby arrives, order and ship it to the parents' address.
Is it safe to hang in a nursery?
The front is clear acrylic, so there is no glass to break. As with any picture, keep it off the wall above the crib.