Thinking about "buying" a star from one of those star-naming
companies you've heard about? Well, here are some sources of information about
"buying" and/or naming stars, and what you "really"
get from those companies. These links include a description of the official
International Astronomical Union
(IAU) policy on naming stars (the IAU is the official authority on
star names - in fact names of anything not on the Earth - it is the only source of star names
recognized by astronomers worldwide -
the IAU's Statement on
Naming Stars).
NOTE: Do not write me to ask me how to contact star-naming companies!
I am not going to promote or assist the star-naming "industry".
I just found out about a worthwile "Adopt a Star" campaign
by the Kepler Mission
(which will be searching for planets around other stars).
The Kepler Mission has created a non-profit "Adopt a Star" program
with the White Dwarf Research Corporation
where 100% of the money goes to scientific research on the stars you actually
adopt (unlike the for-profit
star naming companies where 100% of the money goes to increasing the
company's profits). The Kepler cost is $10 per star, their website is at:
http://whitedwarf.org/palebluedot/.