Star map of Paris — the night sky over Paris, on your date
From Paris, the Plough (Ursa Major) never sets — it circles the pole all year. Pick the night that matters and we draw the sky exactly as it stood above Paris — 48.86°N, 2.35°E — at that hour.
Design your Paris star map — from $29 Free to preview. Nothing to install.
What the sky over Paris is actually like
Paris stands at 48.86°N, and latitude is the thing that decides which half of the sky you are allowed to see at all. From here the Plough (Ursa Major) and Cassiopeia are circumpolar: never setting, just wheeling round the pole through the night. The Southern Cross (Crux) never rises from Paris — 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. 48.86°N — high enough that a good part of the sky never sets
- Never sets from here: the Plough (Ursa Major), Cassiopeia.
- Never rises from here: the Southern Cross (Crux).
- Rises and sets from here: Orion, Gemini.
- Only partly clears the horizon from here: Cygnus (the Northern Cross), Scorpius.
- Darkest it gets in midsummer: never fully dark — at its lowest around midsummer the Sun reaches only 17.7° below the horizon, short of the 18° that makes a properly black sky, so pick a winter date if you want the faint stars
- Passes closest to straight overhead: the Plough (Ursa Major) — 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 Paris's latitude. Change the city on your card and the sky really does change.
When the sky over Paris is actually dark
Never fully dark — at its lowest around midsummer the Sun reaches only 17.7° below the horizon, short of the 18° that makes a properly black sky, so pick a winter date if you want the faint stars. 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 Paris on a January evening is not the sky over Paris 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 Paris
- Pick the moment. The date, the hour, and Paris — 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 Paris star maps for
- Anniversaries in Paris
- Weddings in Paris
- Newborns in Paris
- Birthdays in Paris
- Memorials in Paris
- Travel in Paris
- Graduations in Paris
- Fresh starts in Paris
Questions people ask
- Can I get a star map for Paris 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 Paris, the same calculation an observatory runs, pointed backwards.
- Is the sky over Paris really different from other cities?
- Genuinely, yes. Paris sits at 48.86°N, and latitude decides which part of the sky you can ever see. The Southern Cross (Crux) never rises from Paris — 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.