Star map of Auckland — the night sky over Auckland, on your date
From Auckland, the Southern Cross (Crux) never sets — it circles the pole all year. Pick the night that matters and we draw the sky exactly as it stood above Auckland — 36.85°S, 174.76°E — at that hour.
Design your Auckland star map — from $29 Free to preview. Nothing to install.
What the sky over Auckland is actually like
Auckland stands at 36.85°S, and latitude is the thing that decides which half of the sky you are allowed to see at all. From here the Southern Cross (Crux) is circumpolar: never setting, just wheeling round the pole through the night. Cassiopeia never rises from Auckland — no date or time will bring it above the horizon. That is why the city matters on a star map and is not simply a caption under it.
- Latitude. 36.85°S — a middle latitude — most of the sky comes round across the year
- Never sets from here: the Southern Cross (Crux).
- Never rises from here: Cassiopeia.
- Rises and sets from here: Orion, Cygnus (the Northern Cross), Scorpius, Gemini.
- Only partly clears the horizon from here: the Plough (Ursa Major).
- Darkest it gets in midsummer: about 5.6 hours of true darkness on the shortest night of the year
- Passes closest to straight overhead: Scorpius — very nearly at the zenith from this latitude
These are computed, not written: the same star positions the card itself is drawn from, evaluated for Auckland's latitude. Change the city on your card and the sky really does change.
When the sky over Auckland is actually dark
About 5.6 hours of true darkness on the shortest night of the year. Astronomical night — the point where the Sun is far enough below the horizon that the faint stars come out — is what decides whether a sky is worth looking at, and it depends entirely on how far from the equator you are. It does not change what goes on your card: the map is computed for the moment you choose whether or not anyone could have stood outside and seen it. It is simply worth knowing about your own city.
Why the date matters as much as the place
Place decides which stars you can ever see; date and time decide where they were standing. The sky over Auckland on a January evening is not the sky over Auckland in July — the Earth has moved a long way round the Sun in between, and the same constellations rise hours earlier. That is why a star map of a particular night is a keepsake rather than a poster: it is only that sky if the moment is right.
Make one for Auckland
- Pick the moment. The date, the hour, and Auckland — or anywhere else on Earth.
- Choose the occasion. Each one is its own designed sky.
- Make it yours. Names, a message, your own words.
- Download and print. A 3000×4200 file — a clean 10×14″ print.
Occasions people make Auckland star maps for
- Anniversaries in Auckland
- Weddings in Auckland
- Newborns in Auckland
- Birthdays in Auckland
- Memorials in Auckland
- Travel in Auckland
- Graduations in Auckland
- Fresh starts in Auckland
Questions people ask
- Can I get a star map for Auckland on any date?
- Yes — any date, any time, anywhere on Earth. Give us the moment and we compute where every visible star actually stood above Auckland, the same calculation an observatory runs, pointed backwards.
- Is the sky over Auckland really different from other cities?
- Genuinely, yes. Auckland sits at 36.85°S, and latitude decides which part of the sky you can ever see. Cassiopeia never rises from Auckland — no date or time will bring it above the horizon.
- Do I need the exact time?
- No. If you only remember the evening, use something like 21:00 — the sky over one night barely turns between 20:00 and 22:00 at the scale this prints. If you know the hour, use it.
- What do I actually receive?
- A 3000×4200 print file — a clean 10×14″ print at 300dpi. You print it, so there is no shipping and nothing arrives late.