International Star Registry

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The International Star Registry (ISR), founded in 1979, purports to enable people to name a star as a gift or memorial. Once the star is named, the ISR publishes its telescopic coordinates in a book called "Your Place in the Cosmos."

The names in this book are neither recognized by the scientific community nor used by them. In fact, these names are essentially without meaning, as they have no existence anywhere outside of the ISR's book—which, as the organization's advertising prominently states, is "registered in book form at the U.S. Copyright Office"—just like any other book published in the United States. (Copyright protects the rights of a book's author, but does not imply that the U.S. government endorses or vouches for the book's contents.)

The International Astronomical Union (IAU), not the ISR, has the internationally recognized authority to name and designate newly discovered stars, planets, asteroids, comets, and other heavenly bodies. The IAU's nomenclature, not the ISR's, is the one used by professional and amateur astronomers all over the world. It is not for sale.

The IAU has called the ISR's star-naming business "a deplorable commercial trick."[1] The ISR has also had a violation issued against it for deceptive advertising.^{[citation needed]} The violation was later dropped.

[edit] See also

• Star designation

[edit] External links

• The International Star Registry's website
• Buy a Star, But It's Not Yours (from Wired magazine)
• The Official Star Naming FAQ
• Can you pay $35 to get a star named after you? (from The Straight Dope)
• The International Astronomical Union's statement on star registries
• SPACE.com: Name a star? The truth about buying your place in heaven