For only one payment of $19.99 you could be the official owner of one of the stars in the known galaxy… maybe. Google search “how to buy a star” and a slew of websites will pop up advertising naming a star after a loved one as a service, including a certificate telling everyone in the Universe you own star number 2,345,678,935 out of the billions of stars in the endless galaxies. However, the only official star database you can be listed as an “owner” is The International Astronomical Union. Even then, the process is lengthy and doesn’t even provide a certificate.Commentary on the purchasing and naming stars argues the morality and unspoken rights of these galactic objects. Rachel Leota, an English major on campus, said, “I believe all things are given to us and for our benefit. But how do you monitor or even name such a far away object?” Conversely, Erika Hill, comments, “We as humans tend to define our own spaces and whether or not we own them. But, a star doesn’t belong to anyone.”Researchers at The International Astronomical Union say it is actually quite hard to work with anything but numbers in a star database. The IAU goes even further to say, “such "names" have no formal or official validity whatever: A few bright stars have ancient, traditional Arabic names, but otherwise stars have just catalogue numbers and positions on the sky. Similar rules on "buying" names apply to star clusters and galaxies as well. For bodies in the Solar System, special procedures for assigning official names apply… but in no case are commercial transactions involved.”Furthermore, The IAU suggests instead of wasting your money, go to your local planetarium or join a local astronomy club to look at the actual stars. “Why pay a markup for buying your stars one at a time?”
Writer: Morgynne Tora ~ Multimedia Journalist
