There are companies out there selling the right to name a star. How legitimate is this?
International Star Registry: Name a Star

Not really sure how safe they are but my father-in-law received a star a few years back as a gift. He named it and sent in the paperwork and they sent him a certificate with the location of his star and the new name of the star.
:confused:

I actually looked all this up a month or so back. I received a star in my name as a gift 2 years ago, and recenlty a friend wanted a cool gift for his wife so I suggested it. As I searched for the site that mine may have come from I stumbled upon som reviews about actually buying stars etc.

Basically these companies, International Star Registry, have a list of stars that NASA has documented. The COMPANY will name a star for you, but its not like NASA or any other science company/program will ever use the name you choose to identify your star. Its basically one of those 'oh the it's the thought that counts' kind of gifts...

Better said here: Wired News: Buy a Star, But It's Not Yours

"The star names sold by the International Star Registry are not recognized by any professional astronomical organization."

The International Astronomical Union is the only scientific body authorized to name astronomical bodies.

"We produce a good product, a fun product. We may have planted a seed with people, educated them even slightly about astronomy, about the stars," said Rocky Mosele, vice president of marketing and advertising for ISR. "For people to say, 'Well, it's not official' -- I think people are OK that it's not official. I'm sure of it. I know because customers call again and again and again."


EDIT: here is another helpful site; Interesting information about Star Registry companies

Nobody will use your name to refer to the star. Astronomers will continue to use the number that each star is assigned when it is documented.

However I do believe that the star will be unique to you and your name will be the only one.

And it is a rather nice gift :)

I personally would never sell such an immense source of energy...
LOL!

I think you don't own the star, you just get to name it. However if anyone is selling celestial bodies, I would like one. Or two.

You could charge taxes on anyone who uses the energy provided by your star (a very small amount for each solar panel on Earth). Probably. This is without taking into account every farm that uses your star's energy to produce food which they then sell on for their own profit!! And don't even get me started on the rainforests.

Exactly what I meant! Capuchin, we should start a company together!

Thanks!!

Thanks to everyone for responding to the question. Good info.

Wouldn't you rather have a planet named after you than a star? After all, your friends will be much more impressed! So here's what I'm going to do - send me $50 and I'll name a planet for you! And I'll send you a certificate and nice map showing you where your planet is.

Next week I will be running a special on naming countries... think how envious your friends will be when they find out that where they live is now named after you!

You may wonder how I have the authority to do this? Of course I have the same authority as any of those other outfits that claim to name a star for anyone who sends in some money.

Hey its Legitimate, Got used Galaxy, if your interested.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stratmando

Hey its Legitimate, Got used Galaxy, if your interested.

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Ever read Issac Asimov's short story "Buy Jupiter" ?

The rights to name a star belong to whoever discovered the star I guess

ebaines, the legal rights to name the star goes to the astronomical union.
Laws are not rights.
In singapore, its illegal to be homosexual, yet many believe that people have the right to choose!
So, the moral rights, in my opinion, rest with the discoverer of the star.