I’ll admit I’m not much for physical calendars — it’s just plain easier to keep track of the days on my computer, where the rest of my life is. But when I saw the 2016 Anaptár calendar, my inner science nerd squeed a little. OK, a lot. It’s hanging on my office door now, and I kinda never want to take it down.
Part data visualisation, part gorgeous artwork, the Anaptár calendar is far more than a day tracker. It’s a way of connecting with the Sun, the Moon, and our place in the cosmos — something of a lost art in the age of smartphones and light pollution.
The 365 days of 2016 are arranged counter-clockwise, like tiny slivers in a pie. A symbol above each day indicates the lunar phase; tracing around the year, you can see when each full moon is coming and plan your occult activities accordingly. Toward the centre of the calendar, simple line plots trace the moon’s distance to Earth and its declination. Significant days of the lunar cycle, as well as equinoxes, solstices and major holidays are marked along the calendar’s radial axis.
That’s the obvious stuff I noticed right away. But the more I stared at the calendar, the more layers of information became apparent. Shading across the centre of the wheel, for instance, indicates sunrise and sunset. If you’re the kind of person who’s always trying to squeeze a walk or a run in before dusk, this is great information to have on hand. My (New York) version of the calendar also accounts for daylight savings time.
For those interested in learning more about our place in the cosmos, trace in from any day toward the centre of the calendar, and you can check out the orientation of the stars in the northern hemisphere that night. There’s also a colourful little visualisation off in the corner of the calendar that tells you where all the other planets in our Solar System (yes, even Pluto!) are situated in relation to the Earth in 2016.
There’s probably loads more information I haven’t detailed here, because I’m still figuring it all out! The Anaptár 2016 calendar has versions adapted for Berlin, Budapest, London, New York, Vienna and Copenhagen. It was created by graphic designer Anna Farkas and can be ordered online through the Anagraphic website.