What gives the "National Star Registry" the right to name stars in the sky after somebody?

Question

Who besides an astronomer could find a particular star with certainty anyway? It seems like a scam to fleece people of 54$

Answer 1

Actually I agree with the first response, and on top of the fact that these are scams working simply because of public ignorance on the topic, I heard a program once, and read somewhere that there's more than one of these companies that name stars, I don't know if they all exist but when they first because popular there were at least two or three, and they each have their OWN registry. It's not a worldwide, or even nationwide legitimate thing. It would be like me asking you to name anything you want after someone, and you name the moon after lets say a friend. Anytime you check with me, the moon is named after your friend, but for anyone else, it's the moon.

Something to that extend, it's very very ...dumb in my opinion.

Also as for finding the star, there's a lot of things nowadays to help you do that. Like if you like that sort of stuff, you can buy telescopes, and they have guides to help you find stars and constellations and planets with certainty. They're actually pretty good, and pretty easy once you get into it.

Answer 2

Perky:

You are absolutely right.  It IS a scam.  

And a brilliant one, too, in an unethical sort of way, when you think about it.  Some huckster looked up at the sky one night and cooked up this naming scheme after it dawned on him that there is an inexhaustible supply of both stars AND ignorant, egotistical people who will happily fork over $50 to believe that some official-sounding organization could name one after them.  

And how would anyone, even an astronomer, be able to distinguish among billions of stars which exact one belongs to a named individual?  And how would anyone prove that it wasn't legitimate?  They couldn't and wouldn't, and the scammers know it.  

There is absolutely no scientific legitimacy to this organization's claim of authority to name stars.  Its legal legitimacy is equally non-existent.  Only the gullibility of an ignorant public keeps this business operating.  It is this gullibility that "gives them the right" to do what they do.

H.L. Mencken nailed it when he said "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."  We Americans are not the only ones in this regard. The scammers at the International Star Registry obviously know this fundamental truth, which allows them to laugh while they haul their millions all the way to their banks.

It almost makes me wish I'd thought of it.  But then I wouldn't be able to sleep nights.

Answer 3

Agreed. Who are they to own them in the first place? And you know they give the same star to a hundred different people, I don't care what the piece of paper you get says.

Answer 4

I suppose since no one can prove or disprove who owns the rights to an object that we can never get to, just the fact that they decided to scam people gives them the right.

Answer 5

Never mistake the menu for the meal  :)))