Galaxy Origins
What a star map is
A personalised star map is a chart: software plots the stars visible from your town at your hour and prints them as white dots, often with constellation lines and a border. It is accurate, affordable and pretty, and it looks much the same for any two dates a few days apart.
What we make instead
We use the same three facts, the date, the time and the place, to find the single point directly overhead, and then the catalogued galaxy nearest it, tens of millions of light years away. The artwork is its telescope photograph, not a drawing, framed with the place, the date and your words, and recorded with a catalogue number you can look up.
- Star map: a chart of the whole sky, printed paper, usually £20–£80.
- Galaxy Origins: one real object above that minute, framed artwork, from £290.
If you want a cheerful paper print, a star map is the better buy. If you want a piece of art for the wall, read on.
If you are deciding between the two
A star map is the better choice if you want something affordable to frame yourself, or if the recipient loves recognising constellations. Choose a galaxy if you want a finished artwork for a main wall, a photograph rather than a chart, and something that looks different from the posters in every gift shop.
Several buyers give both: the star map for the bedroom, the galaxy for the living room.
