A Valentine's Day star map of the night that is yours

The short answer

• Print your night, give it on the 14thThe first date, the first "I love you", the proposal or the wedding. The poster is about that night, and Valentine's Day is when you hand it over.
• February 14 looks the same every yearWe compared every Valentine's night from 1960 to 2026 with 2027: the poster's stars sit within 0.8 degrees and it circles the same star every time. Print the 14th only if it is your date.
• Order by Tuesday, February 2Valentine's Day 2027 is a Sunday. An order placed by then is at the door by Saturday the 13th, even at the slow end of our 4 to 8 business days.
• Ready to hangA framed poster arrives assembled, with clear acrylic in front and a hanger on the back. Pick print only if you already have a frame in mind.

Updated October 22, 2026, by the Meridian studio.

Which night to print

Four nights work well for a Valentine's poster. The editor lists every year back to 1930, and the place can be a street address, a park or just the town.

• The night you met or your first dateWhere it started. See the night we met.
• The proposalThe sky over the spot where you asked. See engagement star maps.
• The wedding nightFor married couples, the sky over the venue. See wedding star maps.
• A Valentine's Day of your ownIf you met or got engaged on February 14, print it. The section below is about that night.

The night you pick changes the poster more than you might think. The "Our star" design circles the brightest named star nearly overhead and prints its name, and that star depends on the time of year. A summer first date is a Vega poster; a February one is Capella.

Every night of a year over nine US cities (New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles and Seattle), at the poster's 9 pm by the sun, worked out by the poster's own code. Two names in a row means the month changes star partway through.

If your night is February 14

Our example is Sofia and Marcus, made-up names, whose first date was a walk along the River Walk in San Antonio on Valentine's Day 2020. The poster draws the sky at 9 pm by the sun. On February 14 that is between 8:50 pm and 9:37 pm on the clocks of the nine cities we checked.

• The circled star: CapellaOn February 14 the poster circles Capella in 8 of the 9 cities, 67 to 76 degrees up, close to overhead. In Miami, the farthest south, it picks Sirius. Capella's light takes about 43 years to reach us.
• Orion in the southOrion's belt stands 39 to 59 degrees up in the south, with Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, below it at 26 to 47 degrees. Every February 14 poster from these cities has them.
• The same sky every yearBecause the stars return to the same place on the same date, a poster of February 14, 2020 and one of February 14, 2027 look alike apart from the date line. What changes from year to year is the moon and the planets, which the poster does not draw.
• That night's moonOver the River Walk the moon had not risen by 9 pm. See that night in our sky tool.

The moon and Venus on past Valentine's nights

For a card, or to remember your first Valentine's together: Venus, the planet named for the Roman goddess of love, as the evening star after sunset, the morning star before sunrise, or too close to the sun to see, and the moon over New York at the poster's 9 pm. A full moon on February 14 came in 2014 and 2022; Venus shone in the evening after Valentine's dinner in 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2023 and 2025.

Moon: astronomy-engine for 9 pm sun time over New York, the hour the poster uses; other US cities see nearly the same phase. Venus: 5 degrees or more up at the end of dusk or at first light. In 2027 the moon is waxing gibbous and up in the evening, and Venus is a morning star. Check any other night in our sky tool.

Order dates for Valentine's Day 2027

• Tuesday, February 2: the safe datePrinting takes 2 to 3 business days and US delivery 2 to 5 more. Ordered by then, the poster is at the door by Saturday, February 13, even if both run slow.
• Monday, February 8: only if everything runs fastOrders up to that Monday arrive in time when printing and the carrier are both quick. We cannot promise it.
• Keep it a surpriseShip it to their address, or to work, at checkout. On US orders your note goes in the box on a printed card, and the receipt with the prices comes to you.
• No poster yet on the day?Order anyway and tell them on the 14th. The preview in the editor shows the finished poster, so you can show it on your phone.

Prefer a heart?

The star map is drawn in a circle. If you want a heart on the wall, our where we met heart map prints the streets of your place in a heart shape, in the same three sizes, so the two can hang side by side.

Sizes and prices

Each size and frame carries the same poster. The 12 × 16 in sits on a nightstand or a desk, the 18 × 24 in fits a bedroom wall, the 24 × 32 in goes over a bed or a sofa.

Shipping is free in the US. Launch prices until Nov 30. More frames, and the price of every size and frame, are 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 for couples

• Star map of the night we met
• Engagement star map
• Star map gift for her
• Star map gift for him
• See the sky on any date, free
• Are star maps accurate?