New · two to four Moons
Family Moon Phase Poster: the Moons of us
A family moon phase poster with two, three or four real Moons, one for each of you: the Moon exactly as it was on the night each person was born, or the night two of you met. Every Moon carries a name, the date, the place and its phase, under a title that starts as The Moons of Us.
$139.99
Framed, 18 × 24 in, Natural Wood frame · free shipping
- See every Moon, lit for its own night, before you pay
- Digital file in minutes · prints on 260 g/m² luster photo paper
- Free Shipping on every print
In short: A family moon phase poster from Gift The Stars is a print of the real night sky over a chosen place at a chosen date and time, computed from the Hipparcos star catalogue, with your names and a message underneath. A family moon phase print puts two to four Moons on one poster, each the Moon of one person’s night with their name, date, place and phase. Ours computes every Moon for its own place and instant and draws it from NASA lunar imagery lit for its true phase; digital $19.99, prints from $39.99, framed from $79.99, free shipping on prints.
The digital file is $19.99 and arrives by email in minutes. Posters start at $39.99 and framed prints at $79.99, in 11×14, 12×16, 18×24 or 24×36 inches, with free shipping to 35 countries; prints are made in 2 to 5 business days. The preview is free and needs no account.
How it works
Step 1
Add each person’s night
A name, the place, and the date and time for each Moon, up to four. Each can be a different city, country or decade.
Step 2
We light every Moon
Each phase is computed for its own instant in its own time zone, drawn on NASA’s real lunar surface, and turned over for places south of the equator.
Step 3
Title, style and format
Your title, one of 26 styles from Pure Noir to a watercolour night, then digital, print or framed. The preview is free.
Whose Moons?
Our children
The Moon on the night each child was born, or each grandchild, with their names: a crescent for one, a full Moon for another.
A gift for Mom or Grandma
Her children’s or grandchildren’s birth Moons on one wall. For Christmas, a birthday or Mother’s Day.
The night we met, the night we married
Two Moons for a couple’s milestones, or three with the night you got engaged. An anniversary gift that is different every time.
When a baby joins the family
Both parents’ Moons and the new baby’s, or add a fourth Moon to a poster you already love.
What each Moon’s caption shows
Every Moon gets its own caption, and the title sits above them all. You can hide the time or change the date style in the designer.
- Name: the person (or the night) the Moon belongs to, up to 40 characters
- Date and time: in the place’s own calendar and clock, written the way you choose
- Place: the city or town you enter for that Moon, each Moon with its own
- Phase: the phase name and how much of the face was lit, such as Waxing Crescent · 22% lit
How it is computed
Every Moon computed for its own night
By Mayukh Bagchi, founder & phd candidate in astronomy
Each Moon on the poster is worked out on its own. We read its date and time in that place’s time zone, find the exact instant, and compute the Moon’s elongation, its angle from the Sun as seen from Earth, at that instant. The phase name and the lit percentage come from that angle, so a three-day crescent prints as a thin crescent about 10 % lit, never rounded to the nearest of eight stock pictures.
The Moons themselves are real. The surface is NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mosaic of the near side with the orbiter’s laser-measured terrain, lit from that night’s angle, so craters along the terminator catch the light the way they did. The unlit part stays in charcoal, so even a new Moon shows its seas. Lunar imagery: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.
A family is often spread across the world, and the poster follows. A birth in London and one in Melbourne each show the Moon as it was really seen there: south of the equator the Moon looks turned over, and we turn it to match. The stars around the Moons are a backdrop for the design and fade near each Moon the way moonlight washes out a real sky.
Sizes and prices
The same prices as every star map, in the same portrait sizes.
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Questions
Family Moon Phase Poster: questions
- What is a family moon phase poster?
- One print with two to four Moons. Each is the Moon exactly as it looked on one family member’s night, such as a birth or the night two people met, with a name, the date, the place and the phase name under it. The title starts as The Moons of Us.
- How many moons can I put on one poster?
- Two, three or four. Two sit side by side, three form a triangle and four a square. Each Moon has its own name, place, date and time, so you can give one to each child, to both parents, or to a couple’s milestones.
- Can each moon be from a different city or country?
- Yes. Each Moon is computed for its own place, read in that place’s own time zone, so a birth in London and one in Melbourne each show the true Moon. South of the equator the Moon looks turned over, and we turn it to match.
- How accurate is each phase?
- Each phase comes from the Moon’s true angle to the Sun at the exact instant you enter, not from a set of stock phase pictures. The surface is NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imagery lit for that instant, and the caption prints how much of the face was lit.
- What if I don’t know the exact birth time?
- Use the date and place and leave the time at the evening default. The Moon’s phase changes slowly, so a few hours either way rarely changes its name and moves the lit share by only a few points. You can hide the time on the poster.
- Can I mix birthdays with other dates?
- Yes. Any night works: the night you met, got engaged or married, or the night a baby arrived. Couples often use two Moons for the night they met and the night they married, and add a child’s birth Moon as a third.
- What if one night was a new Moon?
- That Moon still prints. It shows the unlit face in charcoal with its seas and craters visible, labelled New Moon, so every person on the poster gets a Moon.
- Is it a good gift for Mom or Grandma?
- It is one of the simplest family gifts to personalise: add each child’s or grandchild’s birth Moon with their names, choose a frame, and it arrives ready to hang with free shipping. The digital file arrives in minutes when time is short.
- How much does it cost?
- The same as every star map in the shop: digital $19.99, prints $39.99 to $94.99, and framed $79.99 to $229.99 in black, white or natural wood, with free shipping on prints.
- Can I see it before I buy?
- Yes. The designer draws every Moon as you type, framed and on a wall, before you pay anything.
Also new
The other new layouts, at the same prices.
Two skiesNewTwo nights side by side: where you met and where you said yes, or two children’s birth nights. Each sky has its own place, date and line.See it →
Star map + MoonNewThe sky and the Moon exactly as they were that night: its real phase and how much of its face was lit.See it →
Moon posterNewThe Moon alone and large, exactly as it was on your night: NASA’s real lunar surface, lit for its true phase.See it →Also: the classic custom star map, a framed star map, the digital download, the birth poster and all star map gifts.