What was in the sky the night you were born?

The sky above you turns about one degree every four minutes. That means the point directly overhead, the zenith, is different for every minute and every town. The minute you were born had its own.

What you need

• The date, from your birth certificate.
• The time, as precise as you know it.
• The place, the town or hospital.

What is at the zenith

Usually no bright star sits exactly overhead. But beyond the stars there are galaxies everywhere, and the nearest catalogued one to your zenith can be found. Its light set out long before there were people on Earth, often tens or hundreds of millions of years ago.

Seeing it

Survey telescopes such as the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys and Pan-STARRS1 have photographed most of the northern sky. Galaxy Origins computes your zenith, finds the galaxy, and frames its photograph with your name and the date. See the birth-day page. It is free to look; you only pay if you order the print.

Is it the same as NASA's birthday image?

No. NASA's Hubble birthday tool shows a picture Hubble took on your calendar date, in some year, anywhere in the sky. The galaxy above your birth is about your exact minute and place.

Find the galaxy above your moment See the Collection