The Great Star Naming Swindle

I read the Discovery News article "Sky's the Limit in Space Real Estate Monopoly" with interest, astonishment and a big dollop of disappointment. Are there really people out there who think they can just lay claim to the sun and other celestial bodies and then have the front to try to make money out of it?

Sadly, it seems, the answer is a most definite yes.

I've seen companies selling land on the moon and Mars and, of course, selling star names, but I find myself asking the question: "Do I really have the right to question, or even judge, these people?"

It came as a surprise to me recently when someone actually bought me a star! I've spent the last few years campaigning against these schemes yet there it was, in a rather snazzy-looking blue box. It included a certificate, a star chart and lots of glittery stars! It all looked a little cheap, but that's beside the point.

The star chart certainly looked impressive with something like 2,000 stars on it (I didn't count, I guessed) and my star was right in the middle. If I squint, I can see it.

It's supposedly just to the left of Orion, but at magnitude 9.5 would be barely visible even in a pair of good binoculars. I'd definitely need my telescope. I have to say I was a little disappointed; if I'm going to have a star named after me, I really would have hoped it would be a big bright one, especially as it cost about £50 ($80)!

The reality of naming celestial objects is, I'm afraid to say, a little more mundane. There's only one organization that can name objects in the sky: the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and they are most definitely not in the business of selling star names.

Aside from the bright stars that can be seen visually -- with real names originating centuries ago -- most stars like the newly named "Mark Thompson" have rather less exciting catalogue numbers. Mine was none other than "HD 294493"!

When it comes to objects a little closer to home, such as comets and asteroids, it's quite possible to have one bear your name; you just have to be the first to discover it. Comet Hale-Bopp was named after its co-discoverers Alan Hale and Tom Bopp, for example. But frankly that's one of the few ways to get something named after you in the sky. You certainly can't just claim anything in the Universe as being yours.

So it seems the name "Mark Thompson" isn't really attached to anything more than a glossy certificate. One organization that sells star names claims that over 1 million people have bought star names from them in their 25 years of trading. Not a bad profit, it has to be said, for posting a few pieces of paper.

I've seen it from the other side too. In the 20 years that working with my local astronomy group in the UK (Norwich Astronomical Society) I have lost count of the number of times I've been asked by a member of the public to show them their star.

I consider it my responsibility to show them "their" star but to explain that the name isn't official and that the only person that will ever know about the star called "Aunt Bessy" is no one other than themselves. In defense of the star naming organizations, the small print does mention that the name isn't registered anywhere else but it's not obvious and, in my opinion, doesn't excuse nor make it OK.

So, should we question the activity of selling star names? Well for my part and from my experience, the answer comes as a very loud, yes. Of course my argument is with the seller, not the buyer, for whom I have sympathy that they have been swindled out of money.

No, my argument is fair and square with the sellers. What they are doing is perfectly legal but it's not moral and this is where I take my stand. Not everything that is wrong is protected by legislation but it's time to spread the word and expose these scams for what they really are.