Star Map (ilove3d)

What is Star Map (ilove3d)?

The ilove3d star map turns a date, a time and a place into a round plaque of the night sky as it really was, with the stars in relief. It draws the roughly 1,600 stars visible to the naked eye (down to magnitude 5) from the HYG catalog and computes their positions locally in your browser, so there is no account, no API and nothing is uploaded; it even works offline. Brighter stars come out as bigger dots, so Sirius stands out from the background, and the chart is oriented like a planisphere, with north up and east on the left.

You pick the date and time, choose a city or enter exact coordinates, and add an optional raised dedication under the disc, such as names, a date or a place. The diameter (130 mm by default), the relief height, constellation lines from d3-celestial and a border ring are all adjustable, and the model updates live.

It downloads as an STL. For contrast, print the plaque in a dark color and change to a light filament at the relief height, which the page explains. It makes a good gift for a birth, a wedding or a first date, and the maker says selling the prints is fine.

What you can make

• Star map plaques of a date and place
• Gifts with a dedication

How to use Star Map

1. Pick the date, time and place
2. Set the size, relief, constellations and dedication
3. Download the STL
4. Print dark and change filament at the relief height