Astronomy / Space Naming a star? Real or scam?

Groowie

G
I was looking for a fitting present for one of my friends baby shower. During the search, I stumbled upon a service which is offering to name a star. First I was curious, after that interested and skeptical. They say that all named stars are registered in the international celestial star registry. Any of you ever heard of such services of registries? Experiences would be wellcome. I still think it would be a great present though :)
 

Slo-Mo-Shun

Slo-Mo-Shun
A total and unadulterated scam. Star names are approved by the IAU and I am afraid not even the very rich and famous get one named after them. These companies do exist and will send a certificate, its fine for a bit of fun and may even get the individual to whom you give the gift an interest in astronomy.

Most of the famous star names are Arabic and this comes from their excellent use of maths and astronomy and also recording of such things. Nowadays most new star discoveries are made by machine and tend to be named by the catalog in which they appear. So stars catalogued by the Hipparcos satellite are prefixed HIP etc.

Sorry, great idea and it would be great to do it for fun and yes they may well record such an entry in the catalog they mention but I am afraid the only people that recognise such a register is the sellers themselves.
 
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Slo-Mo-Shun

Slo-Mo-Shun
GHDW said:
Is it really that easy to collect money? Considering the site is still up someone is sure paying for it ... :D
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Good point, but I guess people just don't know, further more why should they I suppose. Pleased the op asked the question though, they can now make an informed decision on whether they want to spend the cash or not.
 

metatheurgist

metatheurgist
GHDW said:
Is it really that easy to collect money? Considering the site is still up someone is sure paying for it ... :D
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There are places selling real estate on the moon. I dunno if people are just lazy or dumb. Too hard to print your own certificate or do they believe it's valid?
 

talshiarr

talshiarr
It's as fake as the day is long, but honestly it's the sentiment or intent behind the person giving the gift that should be appreciated. My parents didn't know any better and bought one for me when I was a kid and getting really interested in astronomy. Learning later that it wasn't "official" didn't take away anything from that.
 

Steve

Steve
To be fair, they do state in the FAQs that their star names are not recognised by the IAU, and are purely symbolic.

I guess if everyone understands what they're getting and are willing to pay the money, why not?
 

Giken

G
My aunt got my uncle a star. He loved it, but again he is of some age..!
 
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Manticore

Manticore
Aquamonkey said:
You're better off printing your own certificate. It would be just as valid and save a lot of money.
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Para Handy

Para Handy
Don Alvarez said:
Frontier missed the boat here, cause I would have bet money that people would have paid money to name a star in the game.
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People had the chance :

www.kickstarter.com

Elite: Dangerous

Take a ship and 100 credits to make money legally or illegally - trade, bounty-hunt, pirate, assassinate your way across the galaxy.
www.kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com

Pledge £3,000 or more​

Have a frontier star system named* after you,

7 backers (could have been 15 - 8 unclaimed)

Pledge £5,000 or more​

Dinner with myself and the key team members in Cambridge, Have a central star system named* after you,

5 backers

Pledge £5,000 or more​

Name the secret founder's system*.

1 backer ( @Liqua )


So, if F D wanted to let more people name star systems then it would have to cost £3000 for 8 people if they re-opened the "reward" else the people that did pay that amount would be aggrieved I suppose.
 
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Don Alvarez

Don Alvarez
Para Handy said:
People had the chance :


So, if F D wanted to let more people name star systems then it would have to cost £3000 for 8 people if they re-opened the "reward" else the people that did pay that amount would be aggrieved I suppose.
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Yeah they missed the boat then. To my way of thinking thousands paying a reasonable price probably would have brought more income than a baker's dozen paying a couple thousand.
 

ethelred

ethelred
It'd be nice to make someone a certificate with an actual visible star highlighted and tell them that that star reminds you of them.

A lot of northern hemisphere stars (and constellations) have varied enough stories about them to fit most personality types.

"Most" people know the Ursa Major, but showing and naming the Pleiades visually is always going to look attractive!

(Edit:- https://displate.com/displate/1155450)
 
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