A gift from Abu Dhabi. The sky above one Abu Dhabi day.

Born at the Corniche Hospital, which has delivered generations of the capital's children, or at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Married at Emirates Palace, or in a family home on Al Bateen with the whole tribe of cousins arriving after maghrib. A new villa on Saadiyat or Yas, an apartment on Al Reem with the water below. Abu Dhabi families tend to keep their dates carefully; this keeps one on the wall.

• Corniche Hospital · 4.10 am · our first
• Saadiyat · the day we got the keys

For an Abu Dhabi family whose children now study in London or Boston: the sky above the house they grew up in.

Gifts in Abu Dhabi are often given by a whole family at once, and they are expected to be worthy of the occasion. A framed artwork of the galaxy above a family's day carries that weight without being showy: it is about them, not about a logo.

The strongest moments here are the ones families celebrate together: a wedding at Emirates Palace or at home on Al Bateen, a first child at the Corniche Hospital, the handover of a villa on Yas or Saadiyat. Each has a date, an hour and a place, which is all the studio needs.

For a gift from several relatives, one person orders and the dedication can name everyone, for example With love, from the Al Mansouri family.

Over the capital, at 24.5° north, 3,568 catalogued galaxies cross within half a degree of the zenith during a sidereal day. Five of the larger ones on offer, seen from Abu Dhabi and listed for no other emirate:

• NGC 4162 · 123 million light years · 0.33° off · around 10 pm in late April
• UGC 11344 · 183 million light years · 0.31° off · around 10 pm in early August
• UGC 11315 · 192 million light years · 0.25° off · around 10 pm in early August
• IC 2267 · 100 million light years · 0.28° off · around 10 pm in early March
• IC 4202 · 338 million light years · 0.25° off · around 10 pm in mid-May

They are examples of what passes over the island and the mainland, not a menu: a family's galaxy is decided by its own date, hour and district.

Other emirates: Dubai · Sharjah · Al Ain · Ras Al Khaimah.