I don’t know what it is about this company that bugs me so, but this is the second article I’ve written on the, “name a star after someone,” racket and I just can’t leave it alone. It seems like every late summer into the fall there’s an ad surge on the part of “The International Star Registry,” the organization who purports to name stars after the friends and loved ones of customers. And yes I guess I’m assuming that people aren’t trying to name astronomical bodies after themselves. I don’t know why this time of year seems to be a target season for the novelty company. Maybe because the nights are cooling and they expect customers to be gazing up at the night sky with their star charts trying to locate their stars. Or maybe it’s as simple as the fact that gift giving season is approaching and they want to get in on the white elephant gift market early.
I think it’s important to note that the star names are copyrighted by the US patent office, not by a scientific astronomical organization like the International Astronomical Union. So no scientist anywhere will ever… EVER, be using the name registered with the International Star Registry. Incidentally, a cursory search on Bing also brings up yet another star registry site entitled the “Online Star Registry,” whose price comparison is about the same as the cheapest package available with ISR. Both sites offer more or less the same things depending on the package purchased. The companies promise to send star charts and official looking certificates with lots of calligraphy and fancy writing… which is really all that customers are buying since it’s impossible to purchase what you can’t possibly own or possess. They might as well sell the Grand Canyon, or the Pacific Ocean while they’re at it.