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There's a new operator in town...

Charlie in Dayton

Rabid radioactive stargazer and JREF kid
C
Joined
Aug 3, 2001
Messages
1,086
...and he's just as much of a scam artist as the other guy. For the low low LOW price of only $39.95 (includes 'certification!' [?]), the Universal Star Council will name a star for a loved one!
Yes, you too can be bamboozled into thinking that astronomers and stargazers the world over will be mumbling YOUR name as they search for an insignificant 15th magnitude star that takes a telescope the size of a circus cannon to see!

YOU get to pick the constellation! (Actually, we only offer the constellations that lie along the ecliptic, along with a couple others that are easily recognizable depending on where you live.)
YOU get to type in your chosen star's name, and a passion-packed email message to the recipient (255-character limit)!
YOU get to dig into your wallet for a credit card!
YOU get to shell out another $8.95 for a cheesy 'wish' card to go along with your thoughtful gift!

Feeling especially guilty? Go for the Gold and Platinum!
Our Gold and Platinum packages, that is...only $59.95 or $89.95 respectively...
We'll throw in a plaque for your certificate, a CD-ROM about the stars, an astronomy kit including a planisphere, and your very own credit card bill!

You can get matching stars for you and a significant other in the constellation of your (limited) choice for up to only $149.98! And for the ultimate in astro-kitsch, you can get up to 8 stars for your entire family for a Platinum Package Price of only $224.97!

Supplies are limited to the eight gazillion stars in this Universe! Get yours today before they exhaust their nucular fuel! Go to our website today!

***************
...I was wonderin' when someone else would run this scam. Even though their FAQ details that this is for entertainment only (the IAU does the official naming, and there could be other 'business entities' offering 'similar services'), and part of the money (how much is unsaid) is donated to 'various childrens' charities' (which ones go unsaid), it's still a scam of the first water.

Awright, 'fess up...which one of you yayhoos went over to the dark side?
 
I'm amazed people are *still* falling for that one, I mean, how many years has that crap been rehashed by one company or another?

I've been into amature astronamy since I was a little kid, and on my 13th birthday, my step-mother was fooled into shelling out $49.95 for the "pefect gift" for me. What really amused me is that at the age of 13, with the help of the internet, I knew right away what crap that present really was. What amazed me is that my parents bought it, hook, line, and sinker.

So, next time you're out on the roof stargazing, remember that according to some now defunct scammer in the state of Missouri, one of those stars that you can't see anyway is named after me. :-)
 
Stars? You're still offering star names for sale? How 20th century. How gauche.

Everybody who's somebody knows that the real prestige lies in naming people. With upwards of seven billion (that's milliard to you non-North Americans) souls on this planet, there are enough for everyone - if you act now.

For a paltry $99.95 you can have anyone named as you wish. We'll send you an embossed certificate and instructions for locating the person you've named. The perfect gift for the stalker just starting out.

BUT WAIT! There's more.

If you call within the next hour you can also purchase a limited edition copy of our person catalog - valued at $45.00 - for the ridiculously low price of $10.00 plus shipping! (Any resemblance to the 1996 Manhattan telephone directory is strictly coincidental).

Want to know more? Visit www.thisisascam.com for more information. But hurry! Supplies are limited! Act now!

ETA: Holy Moley. Disclaimer: No offense meant to Bob's Resources, the site that opens when one follows the link in the previous paragraph. I swear, I just made it up, really, don't sue, this isn't my real name and I live overseas anyway, yeah, and my dad's a lawyer, and I have no money to pay you anyway.
 
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When I was working for the telescope company, we once had a display at the New York Toy Fair.

One day, a very, very large person came up to our booth, planted his rolling suitcase/seat thingy, and sat right in front of our podium. Blocking access to our literature. He then proceeded to try and talk with our company President (not the owner) and the other booth rep.

He was from the International Star Registry. He wanted to 'make a deal'. Even as limited as our new President was, he did not fall off the egg truck yesterday. He listened poilitely but pretty much was giving him the brush-off. The guy did not take a hint and effectively tried to monopolize the booth section a long time. I kept my eyes open and tried to help anyone who walked by the booth and looked intersted. I didn't want anything to do with the guy and was afraid I would end up punching him if I talked to him.

He had a copy of a badge that was not his (and no represntative letter). After he left I went on a bathroom break and reported him to security. I don't know if they did anything or not.

The man was the definition of 'Oily'.
 
I bought one of those as a gift oh, about 20 years ago. I didn't know any better... Got a nice certificate and a star map pointing it out. I do recall being a bit suspicious that the name "will eventually be published in a book to be registered with the Library of Congress." I don't feel particularly like I was ripped off, but I do feel a bit foolish about it and it's not something I would generally volunteer. However, if someone said they were thinking about it I would caution them against it.

Sure, there's lots of stars out there, but only some 3000 or so visible to the naked eye. I wonder how many of them have been re-sold.
 
I taught astronomy labs in college, and as such had access to our school's 16-inch Meade. My senior year, I got an email from another student who had purchased a star online through one of these companies. She had bought it for a friend and wanted to show the star to her friend. I asked her for the details (coordinates and magnitude). Apparently the star was 27th magnitude, and thus would be quite impossible to spot (and I didn't want to ask my advisor to donate her hard-earned Hubble time to the project). The worst part though - I plugged the coordinates into Simbad (an astronomical database), which told me there was no such star at those coordinates. Not one very nearby either. Looks like they just made it up. What, did they run out of >27th magnitude stars already? Have they already managed to sell the other 200 billion stars in our galaxy?
 
Oh, and last I heard, the only astronomical objects you can still name yourself if you discover them are comets and planetary nebulae. Don't know about asteriods though. I guess that's still the best way to become immortal, at least in the eyes of the astronomical community. I worked on a project that discovered about 50 new galaxies, but I don't have a galaxy named after me. :(
 
Charlie in Dayton said:
...I was wonderin' when someone else would run this scam.
Click to expand...
Heck, there are bunches of organizations nowadays that have cashed in on the "Name a star!" scam. In addition to the "International Star Registry" (the most well-known scammer) and the "Universal Star Council" (which you've just stumbled across), there's also the "Universal Star Listing", and a host of others that have set up shop since the advent of the World Wide Web.
 
eri said:
I worked on a project that discovered about 50 new galaxies, but I don't have a galaxy named after me. :(
Click to expand...
Eri,

Sorry to hear that. Us folks at Galaxays ‘R’ ‘U’ would like to recognise your work and for free we have named M66 in the Leo triplet after you. From now on it will, in our database, forever be known as Erisphere.
m66.jpg
 
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From the Universal Star Council website.

Q: Is Universal Star Council the only organization that can name stars?

A: Universal Star Council's products are intended for the sole purpose as a unique "novelty" gift one can share with their friends and family. Only the International Astronomical Union has the authority to assign names to stars, but they only recognize stars by assigning them numbers. Various numbering conventions are in use, so the same star can have a different scientific reference number in the Smithsonian catalog, the Messier catalog, or the Hubble Telescope Guide Star Catalog. Universal Star Council internally recognizes and acknowledges the names it assigns to stars in the Universal Star Council Archives and will never name a star more than once. Universal Star Council also acknowledges the fact there may be people who do not officially recognize the names they assign to the stars (Professional astronomers will always prefer to use a star's IAU number vs. "Mom's Star"). We have no control over any other entity operating a similar service or the business of any scientific, governmental or other body.
Click to expand...

Duh.

What. A. Racket.
 
Lothian said:
Eri,

Sorry to hear that. Us folks at Galaxays ‘R’ ‘U’ would like to recognise your work and for free we have named M66 in the Leo triplet after you. From now on it will, in our database, forever be known as Erisphere.
m66.jpg
Click to expand...

Yay! My very own galaxy!

Finally. Now I'm selling the real estate. Who wants the habitable zone? :D
 
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