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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Notice: You Can not Buy a Star or Name a Star for you or your loved ones

Here is the perennial warning against on those interested in purchasing a star and recording it in an official data log. This and many other deceptive offers are always around thruout the year, but is more popular during the holidays. In answer to emails that I am already receiving, here is the scoop:

Don't.

It sure sounds nice and romantic.

Looking up at the night sky and pointing out to your sweetheart that point of light is renamed after her/him. And, that it is officially recorded and recognized by some obscure Union/Society/Council, while producing a stamped certificate of some sorts.

It does not exist.

There is no recognized or official organization accepting or approving the general public interest in buying/renting/changing a star(s). It is a scam perpetrated on the unsuspecting public...and doing quite well. Most times these stars that are named are not even visible to the naked eye, and found only with the use of a detailed star chart. With good intentions, many people constantly send money in to gain a certificate with an arbitrary star number and location of the object in the night sky. The only official numbers that count in this transaction are the bank account deposits of the business.

The only official organization that is in any authority in astronomical matters is the International Astronomical Union - you know...the guys who demoted Pluto. And they do not sell star names.

Here in this ad, you can get a REAL star, as opposed to a fake one..all for less than forty bucks. A great deal for a nuclear furnace/distant sun I say!

But the gall of this ad...not only can you get one star, but for an additional fee, you can get multiple stars in the same purchase order! I wonder if anyone has figured out that our own Sun is up for grabs.

If one desires the novelty of it all, then by all means send the check. At least this one offers a sky atlas and planesphere.

But, if you want to give a gift to share the stars, get a telescope, binoculars or take them to your local planetarium.

If you came across more scams like this, please do send them in, and help create a data base of those taking advantage of the public.

[Centaur]

Right on, Joe. It's unfortunate that this warning needs to be posted every year at this time. It's also needed when approaching Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. Con artists are good at grabbing the strings of peoples' hearts and purses near holidays.

The radio ads cleverly point out the heart of the con in a manner that makes it all appear to be official to those who do not think it through. Copyrighting a book containing star names does not make the namings official. It merely serves as a warning to others not to plagiarize the book. Other scam artists are free to give different names to those same stars.

In any event, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that can be bought at a special discount this week only.

[Centaur]

Here are good links on the subject of "star registries".

www.iau.org/public/buying_star_names/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Star_Registry
www.angelfire.com/tx4/hoaxdetective/scams_02.html
homepage.ntlworld.com/neil.haggath/starnamespage4.html
www.naic.edu/~gibson/starnames/globe.html
www.thesimon.com/magazine/articles/canon_fodder/01222_flying_friendly_lies.html
www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.309
www.ras.ucalgary.ca/~gibson/starnames/isr_news.html
www.csicop.org/si/show/name_dropping_want_to_be_a_star/
www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2001/12/49345

EDIT: I've had to delete a number of the URLs that are no longer operative. Apparently some of the miscreants have lawyers who threaten whistle blowers with lawsuits. If any of them try it here, I'll post their threat and provide my response. My lawyer brother and I would love to present tactics in court they may not have anticipated, while my news media friends are in attendence.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

AOL gives the Chicago Astronomer top references

Checking my stats, I find that AOL's listing engines places our warning high on the list, 2nd as a matter of fact.

search.aol.com/aolcom/search?query=NAME%20A%20STAR%20FOR%20FREE&page=7&nt=null&userid=4718629524652459004&invocationType=sny_tb30AB&clickstreamid=-8974

I like the 1st listing just above the Chicago Astronomer there. Kinda crude, but amuzing.

[Centaur]

It’s the holiday season and the radio airwaves are again polluted with misleading advertisements about sending someone your money so you can choose a name for a star.
So I'm bumping up this old thread. I recommend that concerned consumers read all of the posts in the thread.

Suggestion:
Pick out a visible star, give it a new name, and present a self-made certificate to your loved one. Microsoft’s “Publisher” software may have come with your computer. You can use it to design a certificate. This is more loving than sending money to a scammer.