Naming real stars

from GalCiv3 Forums

Just putting this out there.  No doubt Stardock got this idea of naming your own star because there are companies out there who claim you can name your own real star.   Check out:

 

Http://iau.org/public/themes/buying_star_names

vs.

Http://starnamer.net

 

The official registry of names for real celestial bodies is maintained by an international scientific body called the IAU, and real star names are not for sale.  However there are a number of companies out there maintaining their own, commercial registries and they let you pay them $60 to name a star after your loved one.  In essence, you can pay them $60 to create a line in their Excel spreadsheet and print you a certificate on some expensive paper.  I would dare say Stardock's names are more "real" than this, because at least those exist in a real game and can be colonized.  

 

Stardock's star-naming is of course legit (after all, your name really does appear in the game, and you really do play on it).  But I thought it wise if the community was well-informed regarding the naming of real stars before someone finds out on their own that you can "name" real stars, too.  Because...no you can't.  Not really.    But then again...you could always name a real star after some girl you like...

20,549 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Well... isn't that basically a legal scam? The names aren't official to the IAU, and barring a few outlying exceptions with planets (Bellerophon, Osiris, Zarmina) they don't give extrasolar objects proper names.

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

The legality of it hasn't been challenged in court.  Mostly because...who's going to sue over this?  Really?   

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting tetleytea, reply 2

The legality of it hasn't been challenged in court.  Mostly because...who's going to sue over this?  Really?   
End of tetleytea's quote

A friend of mine was sued over accidentally spilling coffee on a woman's purse and ruining some 'family heirlooms'. Suing over this would be trivial in today's litigious society. :D 

Reply #4 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I tend to think this is harmless to be honest,  it seems obvious enough it isn't official and that any of us could start our own unofficial  list and name any star anything we like for free. 

It's not really a scam unless they claim it is officially recognised. 

 

Reply #5 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I would argue the IAU should in fact do the exact opposite:  they should embrace the idea and support the naming of stars in their own registry, for profit.  Since one of the major goals of the IAU is, in fact, to get the public more interested in astronomy--and the major goal of getting the public more interested in astronomy is, in fact, to secure more funding for the astronomers.  I liken this to the central DNS registry (managed by ICANN), where it is easier for everybody to remember galciv3.com than it is 74.204.71.223.  Except where this is different is that astronomers actually prefer the numbers over the names.  EXCEPT...that I would argue it is not just about the astronomers:  it is about the public, and getting the public more interested in it.   So I say the IAU should sell the names. 

What's interesting is, it so happens that Stardock is in a position to do just that:  to get the public more interested in astronomy.