New: The Star Map Necklace — Your Night Sky, Laser Engraved on a Coin Pendant
New: The Birth Poster — Their Name & Stats Under Their Night Sky
Buy 2, Get 10% Off — Auto-Applied
Free shipping to 35 countries — On Every Print, Always
Gift the Stars
Create

The 45th birthday star

Errai

in Cepheus · about 45 light-years · HIP 116727

Someone turning 45 in 2026 was born in 1981. The light arriving tonight from Errai left the star around 1981, the year they were born. Look up on their 45th birthday and the light in their eyes is as old as they are.

Find their exact star (free)Design a 45th birthday print

Hipparcos distances · by Mayukh Bagchi, founder & phd candidate in astronomy

The star

Errai at a glance

Distance
45 ly
Light left
around 1981
Constellation
Cepheus
Brightness
mag 3.2
Highest at midnight
September
Catalogue
HIP 116727

How to find it

Errai is visible from the suburbs on a clear night. It sits in Cepheus and stands highest at midnight in September; a month or two either side it is up in the evening or before dawn. Northern hemisphere skies only.

  • · From New York: climbs to about 53° above the northern horizon
  • · From London: climbs to about 64° above the northern horizon
  • · From Sydney: never rises

Why this star, for 45

Light crosses one light-year in one year, so a star 45 light-years away shows you light that left it 45 years ago. Match that to an age and you have a birthday star. Errai is the brightest named star within a year and a half of 45 light-years.

It stays their birthday star while they are between 43.8 and 45.1 years old. Every birthday adds a light-year, so next year's star may be a different one: the free finder uses the exact birth date.

Other named stars near 45 light-years

StarDistanceLight left
AlshainAquila45 ly1982
RasalhagueOphiuchus47 ly1980
TalithaUrsa Major48 ly1979
CapellaAuriga42 ly1984
AlchibaCorvus48 ly1978
AlderaminCepheus49 ly1977
A framed star map with the birthday star ringed, lifted out of a gift box for a 45th birthday

A 45th birthday gift

Their star, ringed on the sky they were born under

Enter their birth date, time and birthplace in the designer and we draw that night's sky from the Hipparcos catalogue, then ring their birthday star in gold and name it under the date. Add a line of your own. It works for a 45th because the star is not a story: it is a distance and a date they can check.

  • · Framed from $79.99, ready to hang · prints from $39.99
  • · Digital $19.99: we can email it to them on their birthday with your note
  • · Or the Birthday Star Certificate, one printable page, $7.99
  • · Free Shipping on every print
Design it · framed from $79.99or send the digital file, $19.99or find their exact star first

Birthday stars for other milestones

Or start from the birthday star finder, the birthday star map page or all star map gifts.

Questions

45th birthday star questions

What is the 45th birthday star?
Errai, in Cepheus. It is about 45 light-years away, so the light reaching Earth from it now left the star around 1981. For someone turning 45 in 2026, born in 1981, that is the year they were born.
Is it the same star for everyone turning 45?
Close to it. The match uses age to the day, and Errai is the birthday star for anyone between 43.8 and 45.1 years old. Someone a few months either side of their birthday may land on a neighbouring star. For an exact answer, enter their birth date in the free finder on the birthday star page.
Can you see Errai with the naked eye?
Errai shines at magnitude 3.2: visible from the suburbs on a clear night. It stands highest at midnight in September. Northern hemisphere skies only. From New York it climbs to about 53° above the horizon; from Sydney, it never rises.
How accurate is 45 light-years?
The distance comes from the Hipparcos parallax catalogue, the same data the star charts on this site are drawn from. Parallax is very precise for the nearest stars and less so past about 100 light-years, which is why we round and say "about".
What is a good 45th birthday gift with their star?
Their birth-night sky with Errai (or their exact birthday star) ringed and named under the date: a framed print from $79.99 with free shipping, a digital file ($19.99) we can email to them on the day, or the printable Birthday Star Certificate ($7.99).

Exact to the day

Find their birthday star, then give the night

Free finder. Digital from $19.99, prints from $39.99. Free Shipping on every print.

Find their star Design the print