International Star Registry -- or something like that

What's with this place called "International Star Registry" -- or something
like that.

They advertise that they will name a star for you, your sweet thing, your
dog, whatever -- and "register it."

And????

--

----
Joe S.

"Joe S." wrote in message
...
What's with this place called "International Star Registry" -- or
something
like that.

They advertise that they will name a star for you, your sweet thing, your
dog, whatever -- and "register it."

And????

You send them money and they pick out a star for you. They will send you a
certificate, "register" your star in a book, and send you a star map showing
where your star is. There is nothing official about it - your name will not
be known nor used by astronomers. They "sold" all the bright stars long
ago, so you get a star that is only visible through a telescope. Because of
the huge number of faint stars, even a serious amateur astronmers may not be
able to show you your star with a telescope. (We had a couple bring their
certificate and star chart to a star party several years ago. There star
was in a rich part of the Milky Way, and all we could say was "it is one of
the stars in this field.")

Only you can say if this is worth what they charge. Some people view it as
harmless fun like pet rocks, others think it is not so harmless.

My wife and I picked out a star for ourselves - W Ursae Majoris - and had it
engraved in our wedding bands (we were so worried about the spelling we
missed noticing they got the wedding date wrong in my ring). It's easy to
see with the naked eye, pretty easy to find, and seemed very appropriate.
You could do the same thing, and it is quite easy to print up your own
certificate or chart for yourself or a friend. It is also very inexpensive.
I suppose the ISR sold it to someone long ago, but, tough, it's ours now.

Clear skies, Alan

"Joe S." wrote in message
...
What's with this place called "International Star Registry" -- or
something
like that.

They advertise that they will name a star for you, your sweet thing, your
dog, whatever -- and "register it."

And????

--

----
Joe S.

Take your money?

Etok



__________________________________________________ ____________________
Posted Via Uncensored-News.Com - Still Only $9.95 - http://www.uncensored-news.com
The Worlds Uncensored News Source

it's ours now.

WRONG. I OWN THEM ALL.

Joe,
Anyone can 'sell' anyone a star name, or any other name....molecule of
air name, piece of grass name, brick in a building name......if they so
choose, and naive enough to pay for it.

But don't expect astronomers to actually use that name, as we (long ago)
have given that power to the IAU, International Astronomical Union (by
world-wide agreement) to do the naming of everything in the night sky.
(Comets however, with the IAU's permission, are given name to the
initial discoverer(s).
You can just imagine the chaos involved if there was not an
organization designated to do the 'official' naming....how would you
like all the streets of your town "renamed" or all the cities of your
state "renamed"? Would drive the mapmakers nuts, not to mention the
tourists. So there is consensus (the IAU) to prevent that kind of chaos
in astronomy and the night sky.

So your 'star name' may be registered in a book...even in the Bible if
you wish...and stored at 1600 Pennsyvlania Ave if you wish, or in Heaven
if you wish, but it's still all for....whatever...,but....
It will *never* be recognized by the astronomical community.
Hope this helps.
Clear Skies,
Tom W.




Joe S. wrote:
What's with this place called "International Star Registry" -- or something
like that.

They advertise that they will name a star for you, your sweet thing, your
dog, whatever -- and "register it."

And????

Thanks to all who replied. That's what I thought.

Folks at work know I have a scope and that I stay up late or get up at
ghastly hours to look at stars. One lady at work asked me about the ISR --
she saw an advertisement of some kind and she wants to "name a star" for her
husband or son or someone -- guess I'll tell her that no astronomer will use
that name but if it floats her boat . . . .

--
----
JAS


"Joe S." wrote in message
...
What's with this place called "International Star Registry" -- or
something
like that.

They advertise that they will name a star for you, your sweet thing, your
dog, whatever -- and "register it."

And????

--

----
Joe S.

In article , Joe S. wrote:

What's with this place called "International Star Registry" -- or something
like that.

They advertise that they will name a star for you, your sweet thing, your
dog, whatever -- and "register it."

And????

It works like this:

1. You send them your money.

2. They send you a "certificate"; it's a pretty-looking piece of paper
and nothing more.

That's it. The name they attach to some faint telescopic star and put in
their book has no official status whatsoever. Astronomers will never use
that name. And, in addition, that same star may be named for others, by
other "star registries". Yes, there are several companies which sell
unofficial star names against a fee. One of them even tries to appear
very "official" by calling itself "Ministry of Federal Star Registration",
but it's just a scam company among the other star name selling companies.
Check out these links:

Info about buying star names:
=============================

http://www.wired.com/news/business/0...?tw=wn20011226
Buy a Star, But It's Not Yours (Wired)
http://home.columbus.rr.com/starfaq/
Buy a Star Name FAQ
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/con...tarNaming.html
Buying a Star: the Facts
http://www.yahoo.com/Business_and_Ec...ed_Gifts/Stars
Buying a star
http://www.mindspring.com/~jeffpo/buystar.htm
Can I Buy a Star?, Can I Name a Star?
http://www.ips-planetarium.org/ips-starnaming.html
IPS: Publications -- IPS Official Statement on Star Naming...
http://home.columbus.rr.com/starfaq/
Official Star Naming FAQ
http://www.findarticles.com/m1202/2_.../article.jhtml
Sky and Telescope: Astronomers Threatened by Star-Naming Company.
http://home.carolina.rr.com/nirgal/buyastar.html
So You Want to Buy A Star?


Star naming companies -- all of them are unofficial,
including the "Ministry of Federal Star Registration":
================================================== ====

http://www.celestial-registry.com/
http://www.celestialregistry.com/
Celestial Registry

http://www.shopsite.com/stars/
http://www.starregistry.com.au/
http://www.starregistry.co.uk/
http://www.tyger.co.uk/starreg/
http://www.starregistry.com/
http://www.corporatestar.com/
International Star Registry

http://www.buyastar.com/
Ministry of Federal Star Registration
(despite the name, it's just a small company)

http://www.kreative.net/seascape/star/
Schell's Astronomical Index

http://www.stardeed.com/
Star Deed

http://www.starnames.com/
Universal Star Listing


Some other scams:
=================

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...ake+%2Bfortune
Oscar Hartzell - a very successful scammer
http://www.pulc.com/Programs/professional.htm
Professional Ph.D.'s for sale!!!
http://www.scamorama.com/
Scam o Rama, or The Lads from Lagos


--
----------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Schlyter, Grev Turegatan 40, SE-114 38 Stockholm, SWEDEN
e-mail: pausch at stockholm dot bostream dot se
WWW: http://www.stjarnhimlen.se/
http://home.tiscali.se/pausch/

In article ,
Alan French wrote:

My wife and I picked out a star for ourselves - W Ursae Majoris - and had it
engraved in our wedding bands (we were so worried about the spelling we
missed noticing they got the wedding date wrong in my ring). It's easy to
see with the naked eye, pretty easy to find, and seemed very appropriate.
You could do the same thing, and it is quite easy to print up your own
certificate or chart for yourself or a friend. It is also very inexpensive.
I suppose the ISR sold it to someone long ago, but, tough, it's ours now.

So how much do you charge others who want to look at W Uma ? g

--
----------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Schlyter, Grev Turegatan 40, SE-114 38 Stockholm, SWEDEN
e-mail: pausch at stockholm dot bostream dot se
WWW: http://www.stjarnhimlen.se/
http://home.tiscali.se/pausch/

In article ,
JAS wrote:

Folks at work know I have a scope and that I stay up late or get up
at ghastly hours to look at stars. One lady at work asked me about
the ISR -- she saw an advertisement of some kind and she wants to
"name a star" for her husband or son or someone -- guess I'll tell
her that no astronomer will use that name but if it floats her boat . . . .

Tell her to name some star herself! She can draw a pretty-looking
certificate, or have a ceremony, or do something else she'd like to
do. And her star naming will be no less valid than any star name
money can buy. In addition, she can choose a naked-eye star so that
she really can look at it any clear night, instead of some faint
telescopic star she most likely never will be able to identify.

--
----------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Schlyter, Grev Turegatan 40, SE-114 38 Stockholm, SWEDEN
e-mail: pausch at stockholm dot bostream dot se
WWW: http://www.stjarnhimlen.se/
http://home.tiscali.se/pausch/

I was reading in the bathroom when I ran across an item written by
bwhiting on Thu, 31 Jul 2003 01:14:49 -0400,
which said:

Joe,
Anyone can 'sell' anyone a star name, or any other name....

Hey! If I want to do the same thing as the ISR, with exactly the same
stars... I mean, if I go into business as the Beady Star Registry and
sell stars to people that the International Star Registry has already
sold to other people, will I get into any trouble?

Let's see... I know! The ISR records your name in some sort of
copyrighted book, right? Well, the Beady Star Registry will notify
the US Naval Observatory (probably via a monthly certified letter --
certified to prove that they got it) of the names of all the new star
owners. The ad would read something like, "...and the US Naval
Observatory will be notified of your ownership."

Whattaya think?

---------------
Beady's Corollary to Occam's Razor: "The likeliest explanation of any phenomenon is almost always the most boring."