Star Registration?

[mindcancer]

Hello -

I just joined the forum and i am certainly a newbie.  My wife just presented me with a Star Registration that she bought from  http://www.star-registration.com.  At first i was excited to think that we had actually gotten a star named after us.  But as i started to do some research on what the star was, i started to get the sense of scam, specially after i saw the website.  I figure i would ask to confirm or deny my hunch that this is a bogus scam, and that the only thing named is the certificate that we got.

[Ruud]

It's just a very sweet thing to do of your wife. 

I hope it wasn't too expensive.

What's the star and what's its new proper name? I'll gladly acknowledge it for you.

[Steve Ward]

Very sweet , but very scam ... 

[brantuk]

Sweet gesture from your wife - it's the kinda dumb thing girls do cos they're so dizzy in luuurve with their man. It puts us chaps in an awkward position cos we have to recognise her gesture and make her feel luuurved back without telling her she's done a really stupid thing lol.

But if you can't visit it and spend a day on the beach, or walk around it's cute cobbled streets admiring the architecture - then all you actually have is a bit of paper - which to all intents and purposes ain't intrinsically worth diddly squat, that I coulda sold to you.

I'd write it off to experience unless she was really done over for a huge amount of money and you want to fight a legal case to get it back. Hth

Welcome to SGL by the way.

[Coastliner]

Talking about this to my colleagues here, this may be some face-saving info.

Some companies that sell these do actually maintain a database of the named stars, so once it has been sold to someone it will not get sold again, so the star is "yours" according to that database. The database is obviously unofficial and is not linked in any way to the standard catalogs. So, depending on the company, you still may have a unique gift.

[ollypenrice]

If we think of your wife, we think 'nice gesture.' If we think of the vendors we are glad not to be like them.

I feel that all such websites should be obliged to carry, in bold text, a statement such as this:

We have no legal authority to name stars and any names we do give have no meaning or validity outside this website. They will not be recognized by the International Astronomical Union and will not pass into catalogues, databases or star maps other than our own. Other organisations such as ours are free to offer stars named by us to their own clients for naming. We are essentially fraudulent.

Well, the last sentence above was worth a try!!!!

lly

[Stub Mandrel]

'Over 10,000 satisfied customers'

'We only name stars that are clearly visible from all of the USA and Canada!'

S&T claims 9,096 stars visible to the naked eye in the whole sky... http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-resources/how-many-stars-night-sky-09172014/

And they are partners in a star registry that has other clients as well!

Hang on - you can 'name a star in a corner of a constellation' - so in other words you can name your star, but they are not only recording what you call it... they are also recording what (potentially) many other people call it as well!

[Mattscar]

Its always seen as a nice gesture, for example my mum asked me about naming a star after a child she was going to the christening for, but I told her to spend the money on some Bin's instead for when he's old enough  

[John]

It's a nice gesture, as long as folks who make and receive it understand what their money has really bought.

As an alternative try a Limpet :

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/81710-name-a-star/?p=796800

[steppenwolf]

I have mixed feelings about this - seen from your family point of view, this was a nice gesture by your wife, bought for all the right reasons which probably made your day? So, the thought counted! Was she ripped off by a company that has no 'rights' in the matter of star 'ownership'? Yes!

The stars belong to everyone and no one and although it makes sense to have a central naming body (in our case, the IAU) it has to be asked, why should the IAU have the sole right to name stars?

Enjoy your gift for what your wife intended it to be, a thoughtful present. Great though it would be to get 'even' with the rogues that sold it to her, currently they are not breaking the law of the land, just the law of morality .....

[Peter Drew]

We get a number of requests each year from star name recipients to see "their" star. These are never those with astronomical knowledge and most are in memory of lost loved ones, too often children. The comfort that it can give these people is worth our effort, specially if it is a star they can subsequently find for themselves. In these circumstances it would be cavelling to mention its non official standing. We however do not condone or recommend the practice in the first instance. 

[Charic]

...........pound an acre, pound an acre, go  on geezer, only a pound an acre,  your own bit of  the Moon?  your wife will luv it?  you`ll be able to see it every night guvnor !  ........(  with a Cockney accent )

[steppenwolf]

We get a number of requests each year from star name recipients to see "their" star.

I've had a couple of requests to image these 'special' stars for people and boy, one of them was very obscure (read dim!). Thankfully, neither was in memory of a child.

[glowjet]

It is a lovely thought, summed up very well by Brantuk in his thread #4. For the sake of family harmony it has to be accepted in the way that it was given, but from the astronomy point of view, it is just another way that clever people have found, to make easy money from the unsuspecting public.

Welcome to SGL by the way, enjoy your star ( when you find it ) and the forum

[ghostdance]

...........pound an acre, pound an acre, go  on geezer, only a pound an acre,  your own bit of  the Moon?  your wife will luv it?  you`ll be able to see it every night guvnor !  ........(  with a Cockney accent )

Ere, wotch that wiv the Cocker-ney, or I shall ave to arsk yew to step ahtside!

[ollypenrice]

I've had a couple of requests to image these 'special' stars for people and boy, one of them was very obscure (read dim!). Thankfully, neither was in memory of a child.

So have I, Steve, and one in particular was seriously marginal. I don't think the people running these sites know much astronomy.

Olly

[Scott]

As with any gift, it really is the thought that counts. My wife gave me one of these once and I'll certainly not be the one to tell her it doesn't mean anything. to me it means a whole lot. she took the time to think about what I might like and how ever miss guided, that means a hellava lot to me. Lets face it, she had about as much chance buying me an appropriate astronomy gift as I have getting her the right dress/shoes/handbag etc. And at the end of the day, its not like an ugly shirt that you have to wear and pretend you like it

accept these kind of gifts in the spirit they were given

[Thalestris24]

Nice little earner... Only Fools and Horses...