Naming Stars & Moon Real Estate

I've heard that you can buy 1 acre blocks on the moon;

Lunar Land Owner

and name your own star for a small price;

Star Registry

What are your thoughts on this?

I mean do you think it's cool or lame.

For novelty its would make a cool present for some one, but in reality its a piece of land you'll never visit and a star you can't actually see without a decent telescope.

You get a nice certificate though

Owning the moon has laws to back it up.


Who gives someone the right to name a star? No one owns a star. According to the laws on earth, a man owns the moon, but that does not mean the moon can be owned by any one. A lot of humans think they have a right to everything though. If there are extratarestrials, they have a right to colonize on the moon just as much as we do. A law made on earth is not a universal law.

Originally posted by ilovepizza
Owning the moon has laws to back it up.


Who gives someone the right to name a star? No one owns a star. According to the laws on earth, a man owns the moon, but that does not mean the moon can be owned by any one. A lot of humans think they have a right to everything though. If there are extratarestrials, they have a right to colonize on the moon just as much as we do. A law made on earth is not a universal law.

I'd be asking to see the fine print before buying anything.
personally, i think its a bit lame.

Heres the truth about those sites:

What you really get

It's not hard to grasp the romantic or otherwise wondrous reasons someone might have for buying a star name, especially as a gift. It's also important for potential buyers to know what they'd actually get.

Pretty much nothing, beyond some very expensive paper.

Only the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has the right to officially name celestial objects. It does so for scientific purposes only and does not recognize any commercial naming systems. The IAU, viewed by astronomers as the reputable governing body, is well aware of the sea of commercial star vendors. It has this to say:

"The IAU dissociates itself entirely from the commercial practice of 'selling' fictitious star names."

Some folks wonder, understandably, why stars are not given names in lieu of boring numbers.

The IAU does recognize a handful of ancient star names, given to some of the brightest stars in our sky. But with millions and millions of stars out there, it wisely decided long ago that a numbering system is more useful for scientists.

www.space.com...

Too bad but if I did discover something in the heavens I would like to name it though.