Their name is already up there.
Somewhere in a catalogue of over 230,000 real stars is a set that happens to spell it. We find them, join them, and hand you their true coordinates, so it can be checked.
The preview beside this redraws as you type. Five names are drawn from pre-matched star patterns; any other name is matched against the full catalogue when you write it into the sky.
How it works
Three steps, about a minute.
- Type their name. We find real catalogued stars whose positions spell it.
- Watch it drawn in their sky. Free, on any phone or computer, with nothing to install.
- Keep it. Send it as a private link, or have it printed, or framed and ready to hang.
Chapter I: The catalogue
Real stars.
Real coordinates.
Every point that forms a letter is a catalogued star with a magnitude, a distance and a position you could point a telescope at tonight. Nothing is invented to complete a shape. When a letter needs a star that isn't there, the letter bends to the sky rather than the other way round.
- 230,000+Stars in the AT‑HYG catalogue we draw from
- HIP / PosBrighter stars carry their designation; the rest are identified by position
- ExportThe full list comes as a file you can search in Stellarium or SIMBAD
Chapter II: The date
The sky on
the night you met.
Give a date and the evening is rebuilt around it: the stars that stood overhead, and where each planet actually sat, from real orbital positions rather than a stock illustration.
- EphemTrue planetary positions computed for your date
- OrreryThe solar system as it stood, turnable by hand
- ReadingA long reading of that date, and it says so when it is being poetic
Chapter III: The face
Then their face,
across the galaxy.
Add one photo. A field of real stars is dimmed and brightened by the photo's own light until the face surfaces out of it, and it only resolves from a distance, the way a constellation does.
It waits out in the universe. Once their sky is built, press Enter the universe, then Find their face, and fly straight in until the portrait breaks apart into the stars it was made of.
The photograph never leaves your device. It is read in your browser and turned into stars there. If you make a link to send, we store a low‑resolution black‑and‑white version so their phone can draw it, a small, still‑recognisable image, which we treat as personal information and you can delete at any time.
- LocalCropping and matching happen in your browser
- OptionalSkip it entirely and the name still works
- DeletableOne click, from the link you were given when you sent it
Fig. III: Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, in 22,635 real stars Chapter IV: What is real
Real, and
drawn.
A page that says "these are real stars" owes you an equally clear account of which marks are not. Nothing below is hedged.
- Every star that forms a letterReal
- Their positions, magnitudes and distancesReal
- The planets, on your dateReal
- The night sky behind it allReal
- Every star in their face, where it really isReal
- Which of them the face lights, and how brightlyPhoto
- The lines joining the lettersDrawn
- The haze and the glowDrawn
- The reading of your dateWritten
We are not a star registry and we do not name stars. Nobody can sell you a star. What you are buying is an artwork, a file, and a piece of printing.
Chapter V: Three ways to give it
Make it, send it,
or hang it.
Making one and watching it is free, with no account and no card. You see the whole thing before you decide anything.
Questions
Before you
begin.
Is my name really up there?
The stars are. A set of real stars whose positions happen to trace the letters of your name is what we search for, and with over 230,000 of them the answer is almost always yes. It is a pattern found in the sky, not a claim that the sky spelled it deliberately.
Can I really look these stars up?
Yes, and please do. Export the catalogue and search any row's coordinates in Stellarium, SIMBAD or Aladin. Brighter ones carry their HIP designation; the rest are identified the way astronomers identify unnamed stars, by position.
What happens to the photo?
It is read on your device and never uploaded. If you make a link to send, we store a 256 × 256 black-and-white version so the recipient's phone can draw it. That is a low-resolution image but still a recognisable one, so we treat it as personal information, encrypt it, never run face recognition on it, and let you delete it at any moment.
What if their name is long, or not in English?
Long names wrap onto several lines and the sky patch grows to fit. Accents are handled: José, Björn, Nguyễn and Łukasz all come through with every letter intact, drawn on their nearest A–Z form. For a different alphabet entirely, Greek or Arabic or Chinese, write it the way you would say it and the constellation often reads better than type would.
Do they need an account, or an app?
No. They open a link in whatever browser they already have.
How long does a printed plate take?
It is printed and dispatched within five working days, then allow seven to fourteen working days in total with Standard post, or four to nine with Express. It is printed at whichever facility is nearest you, so it is not crossing an ocean.
Can I see the print before I buy it?
Yes, a preview of the actual plate, generated from your actual sky. Watermarked and deliberately too coarse to print from, but the real thing rather than a mock-up.
Something went wrong with my order.
Email us and we will fix it. If a print arrives damaged or wrong, we reprint it. The full policy is in the terms.
The last node
Start with
a name.
It takes about a minute, and you will see the whole thing before you decide whether to send it or print it.