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The Moon on your day

A birth, a wedding, a day you remember. Choose its date and a title. We calculate the Moon’s illuminated fraction at 12:00 UTC and set it within a north-up surface reference.

Reference time is always 12:00 UTC. This is a schematic keepsake, not an exact birth-time view.

12:00 UTC is printed beneath your chosen date.

Computed example Moon-phase print for 20 July 1969 at 12:00 UTC: a right-lit waxing crescent, with a NASA lunar surface reference
Example: 20 July 1969, 12:00 UTC. A computed phase within a schematic north-up surface reference. Your free watermarked preview replaces this example; check its title and reference date before choosing a size.

Sizes and prices

  • A4 poster — £19.99, UK delivery included
  • A3 poster — £34.99, UK delivery included

Posters use 250 gsm uncoated off-white archival paper. Check your preview carefully: after payment, production begins automatically.

How this keepsake is made

The phase comes from a calculation. The surface comes from a recorded lunar map. Their combination is a schematic reference; its illuminated area is computed for your selected date at noon UTC.

Surface credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio, LRO/LROC/LOLA. The reference has lunar north up and zero libration. Lighting is represented by a vertical phase mask, without crater-scale shadows or a date-specific rotation. NASA’s map includes aesthetic colour adjustments and filled gaps.

Prefer a place and a precise local moment? Make a personalised star map. Read our guide to the Moon’s phases for the underlying geometry.

Questions, answered

Does this show the Moon at the exact time of birth?

No. This is a date-only keepsake. Every date uses 12:00 UTC, printed on the artwork. It does not infer a birth time, local timezone or location. The illuminated fraction and waxing or waning phase are computed at that reference instant.

What does the surface show?

The surface comes from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data, projected as a lunar-north-up near-side reference with zero libration. NASA adjusted this colour map for aesthetics and filled some gaps. The vertical phase mask preserves the calculated illuminated fraction; its rotation is schematic. It does not reconstruct the selected date’s surface tilt, libration, topocentric appearance, crater shadows or camera photograph.

How is the phase calculated?

Astronomy Engine 2.1.19 computes geocentric lunar illumination. Our checks compare reference illumination with USNO rounded noon values and primary phase times across 1900, 2000, 2026 and 2100. Those checks validate the calculation, not the reference texture or an exact view from your location.

What can I personalise?

Choose a valid date from 1900 to 2100 and an optional title of up to 28 printable Latin characters. Check the date, title and noon UTC reference in the free watermarked preview before ordering. Your saved preview parameters determine the paid print.

What sizes are available?

The first supported formats are suitable A4 and A3 portrait posters. Each available size and price comes from our current catalogue and appears before you buy. UK delivery is included. Unsupported formats cannot be selected.