Star Scam
I’ve long suspected that those “name a star after a loved one for only $50″ scams were, well, scams. Turns out, they are. Next time you want to name a star after someone, just go ahead and do it. If you really want to pay someone else for the privilege, pay me, instead. I’ll do it for $45.
And oh, by the way, the star formerly known as Polaris is no longer available, and should now be referred to only as “Xrlqis.” I’ve paid (myself) good money for that name, so it must be official now.
January 14th, 2004 at 9:52 am
All the stars you can see already have names. Most of the 3000 or so names were assigned by Arab astronomers when our calendar years were still in 1 or 2 digits. Some of the names were old even then.
If you listen to the radio ads, they say, “… and are registered in copyright form in the Library of Congress.” Which means they print a book, send it to the LoC, and hold the copyright.
Which means absolutely nothing to astronomers.
On the other hand, if $50 for a nice-looking certificate is a good bargain for you, go for it.
One field that reallyt is wide open is asteroids. There are zillions of unnamed asteroids floating around, and ones with only numerical designations. The IAU assigns names of people, living and dead, by recommendations from the public (probably from the astronomical community). I know 3 or 4 people who have their names given to asteroids.
January 14th, 2004 at 9:53 am
Those crooks!!
Next you’ll be telling me that 40 acres on the Moon I bought aren’t really mine.
We need a law protecting people like me!!!
January 14th, 2004 at 10:02 am
Hold on a second, you claim jumper, I done named that star “Bob” years ago.
January 14th, 2004 at 5:09 pm
Wednesday, 01-14-2004
Electric Venom:Get Ready To Hunt Snark!On the Third Hand: For women onlyRamblings of SilverBlue: Every now and then I pause to thinkOutside The Beltway: Federal Dating ServiceThe American Mind: Dems Bush HatredTalkLeft: Ohio Killer Cries Out Innocence …