A star map gift for him, of the night he would pick

Which night to put on it

Pick the night he would bring up himself. Who he is to you usually decides it:

• Your boyfriendThe night you met or your first date (see the night we met), or the first trip you took together. A 12 × 16 in print, $39 without a frame, fits a desk or a shelf.
• Your husbandThe wedding night (wedding star map), the night you got engaged (engagement star map), or the first night in the house you bought.
• A game you went toType the ballpark or the arena. The heart lands on the stadium and the street map shows the blocks around it.
• A tripA campsite, a canyon rim, a lake. The night under those stars is often the one he remembers best.
• Your dad, or a new dadThe night he became a dad, which is the night you or his first child were born. The birth star map page covers daytime and after-midnight births. One poster per child in the same size and frame makes a row.

Two example posters

For a husband: Kate and Dan, Wrigley Field

A couple we made up for this page, who met at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Friday, August 12, 2016. "The whole night" design in Noir fills black paper with the sky, the street map sits in the middle with the heart on the ballpark. At 9 that evening Vega stood 86 degrees up, almost straight overhead, with Deneb 66 degrees up in the east and Altair 52 degrees up in the southeast, the three stars of the Summer Triangle. Antares, the red heart of Scorpius, sat low in the south at 16 degrees. The moon was up too, 72 percent lit and waxing, but it is not drawn on the poster. Shown above in the black and gold frame.

For a boyfriend: Mia and Jake, a road trip to the Grand Canyon

Also made up: the night of Saturday, March 22, 2025 at Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim. The "Our star" design in Noir circles the brightest star high overhead and names it under the sky. That night it was Capella, 47 degrees up in the northwest. All of Orion was up in the southwest, with Sirius 28 degrees above the horizon below it, and there was no moon in the sky at 9 pm (see that night in our free sky tool). A 12 × 16 in print, no frame.

The poster draws 1,612 stars on Mia and Jake's night: every star down to magnitude 5.6 that was above the horizon. It draws them the same way over a city block as over a canyon rim, about as a really dark sky shows them. From a city street you would see far fewer.

Star figures he can find on it

Most people can point out Orion or the Big Dipper, and a poster that shows one of them is easier to read on the wall. We ran the poster's own code for every night of the year over nine US cities from Seattle to Miami and checked when every main star of each figure is above the horizon at the poster's 9 pm:

Share of nights in that month, nine cities, every main star above the horizon (Orion 7 stars, Big Dipper 7, Summer Triangle 3, Scorpius 4). Cassiopeia, the W, is up on 78 to 100 percent of nights in every month.

• Orion is a winter posterEvery night from December to March, over all nine cities. On a night from May to October it is never fully up at 9 pm.
• The Big Dipper depends on how far northOver New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Seattle it is up on every night of the year. Further south it dips below the northern horizon on fall and early winter evenings. It is up on 92 percent of nights over Denver, 75 over Los Angeles, 74 over Atlanta, 67 over Houston, and 61 over Miami.
• The North Star does not moveEvery other star on the poster turns around it through the night. It stands about as many degrees above the north horizon as the place's latitude: 25 to 27 degrees over Miami, 47 to 48 over Seattle.

Night games, trips and places with no address

• The poster shows 9 pmWe draw every poster for about 9 pm local sun time on the date you type, and no time appears on it. At a 7 pm game that is somewhere in the middle of it.
• If the game ran lateThe sky turns about 15 degrees an hour, but the circled star usually stays. Over Wrigley Field on Kate and Dan's night, Vega was 86 degrees up at 9 pm, 80 at 10 and 69 at 11, still the brightest star high overhead.
• After midnightIf the night ran past 12, type the date it started. That is the evening he remembers.
• A campsite or a trailType the park, the campground or the nearest town and pick it from the list. The heart goes on that spot and the small map draws whatever roads and paths are around it.

Darker designs for his wall

Noir is black paper with white stars and a small red heart. Navy is deep blue, with the lettering in a warm gold to match the stars. Both look at home in a study, a den or a hallway, in a black, a black and gold or an espresso frame. Cream, Sage, Blush and Clay are the lighter ones. You can switch between all six in the editor and see the poster change before you order.

There are three layouts. "The whole night" fills the poster with the sky, as on Kate and Dan's. "Our star" puts the sky in a circle and names the brightest star over you, as on Mia and Jake's. "Under the stars" sets the sky above a larger street map. If he likes it plain, keep the line under the sky to your two names.

When a star map is the wrong gift for him

• There is no night yetA few weeks in, a poster of your first date can feel like a lot. Wait for a night you both talk about.
• The place matters more than the nightHis hometown, the street he grew up on, the ballpark itself. A street map gift for him shows the streets in full, without the sky.
• He wants something to useThen it is not a poster. Ours is a print to hang, nothing more.

Order dates for Christmas and Father's Day

• Christmas 2026: order by Monday, December 14Posters reach US doors in 4 to 8 business days, 2 to 3 in the lab and 2 to 5 with the carrier. December 15 to 18 can still make it if both run at the quick end. We cannot promise it. Outside the US, order by Tuesday, November 10.
• Father's Day, Sunday, June 20, 2027: order by Monday, June 7June 8 to 11 can still make it at the quick end. Memorial Day and Juneteenth, observed on Friday the 18th, are not counted.
• Keeping it a surpriseThe tracking link goes to your email, not his. Ship it to your own address, or tick "This is a gift, ship it straight to them" at checkout: no prices go in the box, and a note of up to 300 characters is printed on a card (US orders).

For Christmas Eve itself on the poster, see the Christmas star map.

Sizes and prices

Each size and frame carries the same poster. The 12 × 16 in sits on a desk, the 18 × 24 in above a dresser or in a hallway, the 24 × 32 in over a sofa.

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.

More star maps

• Design a star map for any place and date
• See the sky on any date, free
• Star map of the night we met
• Wedding star map
• Engagement star map
• Birth star map
• Christmas star map gift
• Star map gift for her
• Valentine's Day star map