OK, so thine poetry do’eth suck’eth
The BBC recently did an article on selling Lunar Real Estate, which of course the sellers have no rights to do so, but are happy to take your celestial dollar
So it seems an appropriate time to look at another ‘novelty’ gift.
Naming a star after a loved one seems like a perfect gift right? I mean you can immortalize their name, identify, and the feelings you have for them against a big ball of exploding gas. Heck, I can think of half a dozen people close to me who rightly deserve such a gift.
Bad diets aside, naming a star is 100% novelty. The companies selling such services have no international naming rights, and the name you give the star is not recognized beyond the company selling to you. Naming rights are controlled by the International Astronomical Union and they do not sell these names to others.
Sure, you get a pretty certificate, but if you are reading this post right now, then you have the means to create your own certificate without the cost.
Or you could use a similar service that does this for free
So why the post? If this is a novelty item, and the sellers acknowledge this on their website then surely there is no issue. Well I disagree, too many people are purchasing under the impression this is official, and internationally recognized by the wider scientific community. Here’s a link to a good story indicating just that.
And I ask, if this gift is so unique, then why are we blocking more than 50 websites in SiteHound offering such a service.
Selling items one doesn’t own is nothing new on the internet, and it’s a trend that’s showing no signs of slowing. There will be more posts to come on that. But my advice to you when purchasing online, is to research as best you can the product or service, and try not to succumb to random impulse purchases.
My last note is to the Sydney Observatory. Shame on you for getting yourselves involved in such a practice. If you need to raise money try something at least that has more scientific relevance to astronomy.....like a bake sale.
Other links :
http://members.aol.com/nlpjp/buy.htm
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.309
http://www.aoas.org/article.php?story=20050810094056612
