Locating A Star

[OgreWookie]

A couple of years back my wife bought me an extremely useful present - A name a star pack. I dutifully filled in the form and sent it off and in due course received my certificate informing me that my star name had been recorded in the star record in the British library.
So now the wife comes along and says "So which one of those stars you're flying around is the one you named?" I resisted the urge to randomly point and admitted I had no idea.

Question: Is it possible to find out?

The information that came with the certificate is as follows:
Star = STAR8GHMEHZYNN-44439872
Right Ascension: 15h 9m 51.0s
Declination: +3 deg 40min 27.5 sec

Anybody got any ideas?

 

[Zieman]

You could try SIMBAD astronomical database, if the star is in it and have other designations you could search for in E: D.
http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/

 

[Jackie Silver]

I think it's unlikely that it'll be in the game, but those coordinates convert to 3.6713 degrees galactic longitude, 49.488 degrees galactic latitude, which in Elite terms is "almost straight towards Sadge, somewhere well above the plane" - roughly speaking (I didn't measure it out exactly), if you start at Sol, look where HIP 73655 is, that way.

Actually I might have that the wrong way round, latitude for longitude. Doh. Lemme check. It would be odd to be so high.
...nope, think I was right first time.

 

[Watchdog]

Commader OgreWookie, I send some rep your way for making me ask uncle Google about naming stars and finding this: https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming/

It is an interesting read. I commute to work daily by bus and Metro and the IAU website should keep me occupied for quite a few days.

 

[OgreWookie]

Well I found an interesting section on the iau website, not sure how I should break the news to the wife:

Q: But if I want to, can I buy the name of a star anyway?

A: Sure, there are people who will be more than happy to take your money....

Q: Can you tell me who and where?

A: Sorry, we are a scientific organization, not a branch of the entertainment industry. We cannot distribute addresses of enterprises selling fictitious goods.

Q: OK, I found a dealer myself; what will I get from them?

A: An expensive piece of paper and a temporary feeling of happiness, like if you take a cup of tea instead of the Doctor's recommended medicine. But at least you do not risk getting sick by paying for a star name, only losing money.

Thank you for your help gentlemen, I can safely say I won't be approaching Frontier requesting the name of an obscure dot somewhere (possibly) on the galaxy map be changed to it's "official", paid for, title

 

[varonica]

Well I found an interesting section on the iau website, not sure how I should break the news to the wife:


Thank you for your help gentlemen, I can safely say I won't be approaching Frontier requesting the name of an obscure dot somewhere (possibly) on the galaxy map be changed to it's "official", paid for, title

There are ways, the scientists at Mopra radiotelescope in Australia used crowdfunding to raise money to finish the project they were working on, rewards for large contributors was to have an area of space named after them, a friend was given naming rights to a molecular cloud the survey found.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-11/astronomers-rely-on-crowdfunding-to-save-telescope/6764262