Handcrafted · Interactive · Wall Art

All Those Stars

A piece of sky. A message, whispered in the dark.

Ursa Minor smart constellation poster with glowing LEDs Ursa Minor smart constellation poster with LEDs illuminated
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The Origin

How it all began

One evening, I was admiring the night sky with my kids. As I saw the wonder in their small eyes, I felt something I couldn’t quite name — a kind of hunger. The kind that has no answer.

“I wished I could reach up, grab a piece of that wonderful starry sky, and just… give it to them...”
Three-panel comic: a father points at the stars with his children, holds up the glowing Ursa Minor poster against the night sky, then hands it to them saying — Now these stars will always be with you.


That feeling never left me. I started wondering: what would it take to hold a constellation in your hands? Not a print, not a photograph — something alive. Something that flickers. Something that wakes up only in the dark, the way stars do.

And then, one day, the idea of a hidden message arrived. Morse code — the original secret language. What if one of the stars quietly blinked something only you knew was there?
A message you whispered in, before giving it away to someone you love.

That is how the idea of All Those Stars was born.

First Light

Ursa Minor — The Little Bear

Close-up detail of the Ursa Minor constellation

The first poster I made — a gift for my children.

Ursa Minor. Home of Polaris, the North Star, the star that never moves. For centuries, sailors in darkness trusted it to find their way home.

“Follow Your North Star” is what I want to leave with them. Not a destination. Not a map. Just a reminder that somewhere up there, fixed and patient, something is always pointing the way — if you’re brave enough to look up and follow it.

  • ✦Warm-white LEDs, each flickering independently to simulate real star scintillation
  • ✦Polaris blinks a hidden message in Morse code — only visible in the dark
  • ✦Photoresistor detects ambient light — the poster wakes only in darkness
  • ✦An Arduino Nano Every Microcontroller unit running a custom open-source sketch

What You Need

The Materials

Everything below is accessible and affordable. No specialist workshop required — just a table, patience, and a little wonder.

MDF board

MDF Board

The rigid base. MDF cuts cleanly, holds the LEDs firmly, and sits flat inside the frame.

Constellation print

Constellation Print

Custom-designed printed artwork; the visual layer that makes each poster unique.

Warm white LEDs

Warm White LEDs

One per star. Warm tone replicates starlight naturally. One LED is reserved for the hidden Morse code message.

Leather hole punch

Leather Hole Punch

A round leather punch cuts perfect circular holes in the print — far cleaner than a knife.

Drill

Drill

Bores the LED holes through the MDF board.

Microcontroller onerror=

Microcontroller

The brain. Controls each LED individually — flickering, Morse timing, and ambient light sensing.

Circuit Perfboard

Perfboard

The base for all electronic components. Provides a stable platform for the microcontroller, resistors, and other parts.

Photoresistor LDR

Photoresistor (LDR)

The poster’s eye. Reads ambient light and activates the LEDs only when the room goes dark.

Resistors

10kΩ Resistors

10kΩ resistors for the LDR voltage divider and for the LEDs. Use insulated wires to connect everything neatly behind the board.

Transparent tube

Transparent tube

A transparent tube to position the LEDs and the photoresistor.

A3 picture frame

Picture Frame

A nice looking frame. Provides the finished look and hides all electronics behind the board.

Battery power source

Power Source

4× AA batteries (1.5V each) or a single 9V — compact and hidden inside the frame.

Soldering Iron

Soldering Iron

A soldering iron to connect the components.

Glue

Glue

Some Glue to secure the pieces together.

Build Guide

How I Made It

Below is the full process. Have questions? Feel free to reach out.

1

Design & print the constellation

I create a custom design for each constellation. The artwork is then printed on quality paper — this becomes the face of the poster.

2

Mark the star positions on the MDF

Place the print over the MDF board and use a hole punch with to cut matching holes at each star. The punch gives a perfectly clean, round result transferring each star position through the paper onto the board below. These marks become your drilling guide.

3

Drill the MDF board

Using the drill, bore a hole at each marked star position. Work slowly — clean entry holes make the LEDs sit flush and look polished from the front.

4

Install & wire the LEDs

Place each LED behind its hole. Run individual wires from each LED anode to a separate digital pin on the Arduino. All cathodes share a common ground. Label your wires.

5

Add the photoresistor

Wire the LDR in a voltage divider with a 10kΩ resistor to an analog pin on the Arduino. Position it at the frame edge where it reads ambient room light freely — this is the poster’s eye.

6

Upload the Arduino sketch

The sketch handles three things: the light threshold, a per-LED randomised flicker algorithm, and the Morse code timing for the secret star. Set your hidden message string in the code, upload, and test. Full source on GitHub.

7

Assemble and frame

Layer the print over the MDF so each LED pokes through its matching hole. Secure with small dabs of glue. The Arduino and wiring hide behind the board inside the deep frame. Close it up, plug it in.

First Power-On

Powering On & Calibration

Every time the microcontroller starts up, the poster runs a short calibration routine so it can learn the difference between a lit room and a dark one. This takes roughly a minute — once complete, the poster will switch its LEDs on and off automatically based on ambient light.

1

Light reading — keep the room bright

When the poster powers on, the LEDs will light up one at a time in a slow cascade. During this phase the photoresistor is sampling the ambient brightness, so make sure the room lights are on and nothing is blocking the sensor. Once every LED is lit, they will all blink three times to confirm the light reading is done.

2

Dark reading — cover the sensor or turn off the lights

Immediately after the three blinks, the LEDs will begin turning off one by one in reverse order. This time the photoresistor is recording the darkness level, so cover the sensor with your finger or switch the room lights off. When the last LED goes out, all LEDs will blink three more times — calibration is complete.

Note — calibration runs every time the microcontroller restarts. If you disconnect and reconnect the batteries (or power cycle the poster), you will need to go through this two-step process again.

Open Source

The Code

The Arduino sketch is fully open source. Fork it, adapt it for your constellation, change the Morse message — make it yours.

allthosestars — Arduino Sketch

Flickering LED constellation controller with Morse code messaging and ambient light sensing

→

What’s Coming

More Constellations

Each new poster gets its own story, its own phrase, its own reason for existing. They’ll appear here as they’re made.

Ursa Minor constellation poster
✦

Ursa Minor

“Follow Your North Star”

Complete

In progess

📷
Photo coming
when ready

✦

Cassiopeia

In progress

Next

📷
Photo coming
when ready

✦

Orion

In progress

Soon

📷
Photo coming
when ready

♈

Zodiac Signs

Coming soon

Have a question or just want to say hello — hello@allthosestars.com

About Me

Portrait photo

📷
Photo
coming soon

As a kid I was fascinated by the mysteries of the cosmos. I used to spend hours admiring the night sky, and when I was eight I asked my parents for a telescope. That same curiosity later led me to study astrophysics at university, chasing answers to those childhood questions.

Now a father of two, I spend my free time giving form to the ideas that fatherhood brings. All Those Stars was born from a simple wish: to share my love of the stars with my children.

Constellations are time machines. The same patterns our ancestors looked up at thousands of years ago — finding stories, lessons, and meaning in the dark — are still up there, unchanged, waiting to be found. All those stars, quietly holding their stories. Waiting for the next pair of curious eyes to look up.

Disclaimer

Please read the following carefully before attempting to replicate any of the projects documented on this website, the YouTube channel, or any associated video or social media content.

For demonstrative and educational purposes only. All projects, builds, tutorials, and guides published on allthosestars.com and across all associated channels (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, GitHub) are shared strictly for personal inspiration and educational reference. They do not constitute professional electrical, engineering, or technical instructions.

No responsibility for damage to components or equipment. Working with electronics carries inherent risks. Components can be damaged if wired incorrectly, if incorrect voltages are applied, or if instructions are followed imprecisely. The author accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any components, devices, or equipment damaged by anyone attempting to replicate these projects.

No responsibility for personal injury. These projects involve tools including drills, hammers, leather punches, and soldering irons, as well as electrical components. The author accepts no responsibility for any personal injury — including but not limited to cuts, burns, electric shock, or any other harm — sustained by anyone attempting to replicate any part of the projects shown here or in any associated content.

Proceed entirely at your own risk. By choosing to replicate any project shown here, you accept full and sole responsibility for your own safety and for any outcomes — including damage to property or injury to yourself or others. The author cannot be held liable under any circumstances.

Seek qualified help when in doubt. If you are unfamiliar with basic electronics, woodworking tools, or electrical safety, please consult a qualified professional before proceeding. Do not attempt to replicate these projects unsupervised if you are a minor.

This disclaimer applies to all content published on allthosestars.com, the All Those Stars YouTube channel, Instagram, TikTok, GitHub, and any other platform or medium where this content may appear. Last updated 2026.