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We wouldn't be surprised if a lot of you are wondering just how we can so confidently claim our Sky Maps are accurately depicting the stars! And we understand why - none of us want to risk such a special gift to end up being a normal map with just constellation lines with zero accuracy. Which is why we believe in full transparency and want to share exactly how we map the stars to create your stunning maps!
Whenever we look up in the sky, it always feels like stars are fixed. However, they’re always moving. Not only stars but planets also change their location in the sky as time passes. We take star positions from Yale Bright Star Catalog. This catalog contains 9,110 stars, including B1950 positions, proper motions, and magnitudes.
Deep sky objects like galaxies, star clusters and nebula are taken from Messier Catalog. This catalog has fascinating astronomical objects that can be observed from Earth’s Northern Hemisphere. The Hubble Space Telescope takes infrared and ultraviolet images, which can reveal information that cannot be obtained using only visible light. Because infrared and ultraviolet light are not visible to human eyes, these images need to be processed in such a way that makes them meaningful to observers. This is done by assigning colors that humans can perceive to the wavelengths that they cannot.
There are around 88 constellations between northern and southern hemispheres. Sky Maps helps us discover which constellations are visible and which disappear as seasons keep changing all year round. A few constellations like Orion may appear in both hemispheres, depending on your distance from the equator and what time of the year it is. If you can’t see the entire constellation, then there’s a possibility that it is too close to the horizon line and is too far north or south for complete viewing. For example, in the northern hemisphere, the most visible constellations are the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. These constellations are visible throughout the whole year.
Rest assured, our team of designers make sure your map is as accurate as possible! So all you need to think about is how you want to design your star map!