Name A Star NASA

In recent years, internet sites have begun to pop up allowing you to adopt a star in someone's name, so that you can give it to them as a birthday gift, anniversary present, graduation gift, etc.  It seems like a fun idea.

But can you really adopt a star in the sky?  Or is star naming a scam? 

First of all, I'm not sure anyone would ascribe any particular meaning to a literal reading of "adopting a star".  In fact, if you were to meet some alien living on a planet orbiting a star that some Earthling "named" or "adopted", I doubt they would be aware of it, and they might even be offended.  Not that it matters what aliens think - but my point is that no one thinks you can officially adopt a star, and no one is claiming to do it anyway.  No harm, no foul, I guess.

Anyway, as I say, there are sites that claim to let you adopt a star in the night sky - for instance, one site called StarMoniker does this.   When you sign up, you pay them something like $40-60 and you get some papers in the mail which you can give to your loved one to demonstrate your love.   Now frankly, I don't think their papers are very impressive, but I guess what really matters is what you write on them!   So if you want to give someone an adopt-a-star gift they'll really appreciate, then take the time to right a really romantic dedication, and you're sure to score! 

Naming a Star has become a fun and popular gift among friends and family members of all ages.   Star naming has been a part of popular culture in numerous songs and movies, including the recently released "Did You Hear About the Morgans", where actor Hugh Grant wants to name a star for his wife to stay in her good graces (watch Hugh consider naming a star in the trailer here).   Tens of thousands of people from all walks of life have named stars as a way of expressing their feelings for another person.

But is it real?  And why do it?  Read my other posts about star naming, because I've learned a lot about this interesting gift idea over the months and years, and I  have some positive and negative things to say about it.  There is also a very good site that lets you compare name a star companies.  There are lots of sites out there, and like a lot of other things, it's buyer beware.  Some of these places will sell you 4 sheets of paper and a white envelope for $40, while others will charge about the same for a very presentable gift with a lot of features that will make the gift special and very much appreciated.

The biggest time of year for star naming is the holidays - probably because people want - and need - to find a way to express their feelings towards another person, and naming a star is a romantic and meaningful way to do it.  Some sites suggest that their service is an official government database, but they are not.  Other sites are very upfront and honest about what you are getting.

There are several websites out there that make it easy to name a star, and will send you a gift set that goes great under the Christmas tree.  Some of those name a star gift sets are better than others, though, so you should be sure to compare before you buy.  Here is an excellent website that has done a thorough comparison of name a star companies.

In a word, no!  In two more words, so what? 

There seems to be some buzz among certain up-tight bloggers that star registration companies are a scam and a rip-off.  Well, I guess it depends what you think you're getting.  As I wrote in another blog post, the only "official" star regsitry is published by the International Astronomical Union, or IAU.  It has nothing to do with NASA, and in fact NASA doesn't have anything to do with star names nd never has.  The IAU catalog is the main catalog used by astronomers, and every star in it is referred to with a number, not a name - each star has exact coordinates, and then a catalog number (and there are several catalogs too!), but all the catalogs use numbers.  So if you consider these catalogs to be "official", like most people do, you would still be faced with several different ways of referring to a given star - but they'd all be numbers, not names.

But I thought some stars have "real" names!  What about Sirius, and Regulus, and the North Star?  Well, yes, these are popular names for these bright stars, but do you think Japanese people say "The North Star"?  Do you think Iranians say "Sirius", or that Maori Bushmen talk about "Regulus"?  I got news for you - even these bright important stars have many, many names, and one name may be more popular and well known than another, but none of them are the "official" name.  So if you name a star with a star naming company, your name isn't "official" either.  So uptight people should relax a bit about that whole argument.