Guides
Everything worth knowing about a star map.
Direct answers about star map, Moon and natal chart prints: how accurate they are, what to give, digital or printed, and how the main shops compare.
Choosing the gift
What to give, for which night, and which print suits it.
- GuideWhat is the best star map gift?How to choose a star map gift that is really the sky of that night: what it should show, which occasions it suits, digital or printed, and what it costs.
- Files arrive
- In minutes
- Sharp up to
- 30×40 in · 75×100 cm
- GuideAnniversary gift ideas by year, with the traditional themesThe traditional anniversary theme for every year, paper to diamond, with a gift idea for each, and why the sky of your wedding night fits them all.
- 1st
- Paper
- 10th
- Tin or aluminium
- GuideStar map or Moon phase print: which to choose?The difference between a star map and a Moon phase print, which suits which occasion, and when to choose both on one print.
- Star map
- The whole sky
- Moon print
- One night's Moon, close up
- GuideDigital or printed star map: which is better?Should you buy a star map as a digital file or as a shipped poster? Speed, cost, quality, sizes and gifting abroad compared.
- Digital
- Minutes, any size
- Shipped
- Days, the seller's sizes
How it works
What is calculated, how exact it is, and what a birth chart shows.
- GuideHow accurate is a custom star map?What a real star map calculates for your date, time and place, which star and Moon data it uses, and how to tell a real map from a template.
- Stars placed
- 5,044
- Constellations
- 88
- GuideWhat did the sky look like on your wedding night, or the night you were born?See the real sky over any place on any date: the stars, constellations and planets overhead, and the Moon in its phase that night. Free preview.
- Preview
- Free, no account
- Dates
- Any night, decades back
- GuideWhat is a natal chart print, and what does it show?A natal chart print shows where the Sun, Moon and planets were at the moment of a birth, the rising sign and the houses, drawn over the real sky of that night.
- Computed with
- Swiss Ephemeris
- Needs
- Date, time, place
Comparisons
Side by side with the best-known star map shops, checked on their own pages.
- GuideSigastra vs The Night Sky: which star map to choose?An honest comparison of Sigastra Gifts and The Night Sky: what each sells, how it is delivered, what it costs and when each is the better choice.
- Sigastra
- Files in minutes
- The Night Sky
- Prints in 5–7 business days (US)
- GuideSigastra vs Under Lucky Stars: which star map to choose?How Sigastra Gifts and Under Lucky Stars compare on what you receive, delivery time, sizes, the Moon, languages and price.
- Sigastra
- Files in minutes
- Under Lucky Stars
- 3 + 7–10 days (US, EU, AU)