The real night sky, computed and painted
The sky remembers.
Somewhere above you, on the night that changed everything, the stars stood in an arrangement they will never hold again. Tell us when and where. We compute exactly what was overhead — and paint it into fine art you can hang.
Hipparcos catalogue · JPL ephemeris · every coordinate engraved on the print
We do not invent the sky. We recover it. The night of your moment already happened, exactly once, exactly one way — and it is still, precisely, computable.
A studio of the Painted family
Every sky belongs to a moment.
Choose the night worth keeping. We commemorate it — we never predict.
Three steps, one true night.
I
Name the moment
A date, a time, a place. A birth, a vow, a last goodbye — or an ordinary night that turned out to matter.
II
We compute the sky
From the Hipparcos catalogue and a JPL ephemeris we resolve the true position of every star, the Moon's exact phase, and the visible planets — for that instant, over that spot on Earth.
III
We paint it back
The real sky, drawn in your chosen style and printed as museum-grade fine art. Coordinates and source engraved in the margin, because the truth is the point.
Actual output · computed, not decorated
Skies we have already recovered.
Houston, Texas
20 July 1969 · Waxing Crescent · 4,482 stars
The sky over Houston the hour Apollo 11 touched the Sea of Tranquillity — 4,482 stars and a waxing crescent Moon, invisible behind the afternoon sun, exactly where they stood.
Carbondale, Illinois
21 August 2017 · New Moon · 4,405 stars
Carbondale, Illinois, under the Great American Eclipse. The Moon computes to exactly New — because it was passing in front of the Sun.
Kyoto, Japan
21 June 2019 · Waning Gibbous · 4,229 stars
Midsummer night over Kyoto, the shortest darkness of the year, a Waning Gibbous Moon just below the eastern horizon, about to rise.
On your wall
Not a poster. An heirloom.
Printed on Hahnemühle cotton rag with pigment inks, or framed behind shatterproof acrylic and ready to hang. The place, the date and the coordinates are set in the margin, so anyone who stands before it knows they are looking at a true night — recovered, not imagined.
Each frame above holds a real chart our engine computed — the same output your moment produces.
Made to outlast us.
From a print on your wall to an heirloom frame — the same true sky, at the weight you want to give it.
Archival Print · 18×24
Giclée on museum cotton rag, pigment inks that outlast us.
$519.00
Gallery Canvas · 24×32
Hand-stretched over solid bars. Nothing between you and the night.
$599.00
Heirloom Frame · 24×32
Archival print in a classic frame, behind shatterproof acrylic. Ready to hang.
$749.00
Round Acrylic · Ø30cm
Your night cut to a perfect circle behind gallery acrylic glass. Luminous, frameless. A circle has no margin, so the coordinates stay off the disc.
$159.00
Round Metal · Ø30cm
The disc on brushed aluminium — deep, modern, and built to last a lifetime. A circle has no margin, so the coordinates stay off the disc.
$179.00
The Night Tee
Your exact sky, worn. Bella+Canvas cotton tee, the round chart printed over the heart.
$85.00
The Night Crewneck
Heavyweight crewneck sweatshirt — the night you keep, on the days you wear it.
$105.00
The Night Hoodie
Premium pullover hoodie. A whole sky, computed to the second, over your heart.
$125.00
Sterling Pendant · Ø25mm
Your night cast in solid sterling silver, mirror-polished by hand. Every star a raised point, the Moon in its phase, an integral bail.
$395.00Coming October 2026
Sterling Pendant · Ø32mm
The larger disc holds more of the night: stars to a fainter magnitude, the constellations in full. Solid sterling, cast and hand-polished.
$495.00Coming October 2026
Questions, answered plainly
Is it the real sky for my date, or a decoration?
It is the real sky. Every star is placed from the Hipparcos catalogue and the Moon and planets from NASA/JPL's DE440 ephemeris, for the exact place and minute you give. With the caption on, the margin prints the coordinates and the catalogue, so anyone can check it.
Source: How we compute the sky · checked
Does a chart name a star after someone?
No. A chart shows the sky over one place at one moment; it does not name, register or sell a star, and nothing we make claims to. The International Astronomical Union does not recognise purchased star names, and we would rather give you something true.
Source: Terms: what you are buying · checked
What does a Painted Heavens chart cost?
Archival Print · 18×24 is $519.00; Gallery Canvas · 24×32 is $599.00; Heirloom Frame · 24×32 is $749.00, with flat shipping shown at checkout before you pay. Orders are not open yet; the live preview is free, and support@painted.app will tell you when they open.
Source: Our format catalogue · checked
Can I get a chart for a date that hasn't happened yet?
Yes. The sky is computed the same way for any date the NASA/JPL DE440s ephemeris covers, 1850 to 2149, so a wedding still to come works as well as a birth. It shows where the stars will stand; it says nothing about what the day will bring.
Source: How we compute the sky · checked
How accurate is it?
Star positions are accurate to about 0.3 degrees for a chart near the year 2000, growing to roughly 1.6 degrees at the far edges of our 1850–2149 range — the catalogue is not adjusted for the slow drift of Earth's axis over centuries. The Moon and planets are computed from NASA/JPL's ephemeris for your exact coordinates and minute, and the printed Moon is exact. The on-screen preview Moon is a simpler calculation, accurate to within about a degree, and a place name resolves to a coordinate that may sit a little way from where you picture it.
Source: About our charts · checked
What if I don't know the exact time?
Tick "time unknown" and we compute the sky at 9:00 PM local time that night. The caption then says "time assumed", so the chart never claims a precision it does not have.
Source: The creator · checked
Where do you ship, and who prints it?
Prints, canvases and frames are made to order by Prodigi and ship to 20 countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal, Japan. Import duties, where they apply, are the recipient's.
Source: Terms: prices and payment · checked
Is the pendant engraved?
No. It is cast: we compute your sky, model every star brighter than the fourth magnitude as a raised point on a 25mm disc, and the piece is lost-wax cast in solid sterling silver from that model, then polished by hand. Nothing is etched or printed on it, so the stars are metal, not marks. Casting takes three to four weeks, and orders open in October 2026: the first pieces are being cast now.
Source: Formats and prices · checked
What if it arrives damaged or wrong?
Write to us within 30 days of delivery with a photograph and we will remake it or refund you. Because every piece is made for one moment, a correct piece cannot be returned once production starts.
Source: Refunds and returns · checked