It has been brought to the attention of the General Secretary that certain of these enterprises pretend to customers that the IAU somehow recognises, approves of, or even actively collaborates in their business of "selling" star names. The IAU wishes to make it unequivocally clear that any such claim or suggestion is patently false and unfounded. In all known cases the IAU has served written notice to the company in question that all such references to the IAU are illegal and must cease immediately. If the company continues its deplorable practice despite such a reminder, this is a blatant legal offence which will undoubtedly interest national or local public consumer protection agencies. Some of these have already taken action against certain companies for deceptive marketing practice. The IAU will appreciate being informed, with appropriate documentation, of all cases of illegal use of its name, and will pursue all such abuse by all available means.

To see that the idea of "buying" stars or star names is inherently absurd, consider that there are perhaps 100,000,000,000 stars in our Milky Way Galaxy alone where other beings might in principle compete on the market. Stars cannot be fenced in, taken home, or locked up in a vault: Like so many of the best things in life, the beauty of the night sky is not for sale, but is there for all to enjoy. For the sake of completeness, these rules apply to star clusters and galaxies as well as to individual stars.

However, it has now become possible to explore the sky in your own home: Large digital sky surveys have become freely available on CD-ROM and can be ordered by anyone, e.g. from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (catalog@aspsky.org). This allows you to browse among many hundreds of millions of stars on your home computer. These public digital maps are the main data base of at least some of the commercial star naming enterprises anyway; so why pay a markup for buying stars one at a time?

Notwithstanding the above clarifications, the past several months have brought many requests to the IAU for naming stars anyway. For such potential customers, we offer:

The following lists some simple, frequent questions and answers about naming stars and other celestial bodies (see also links under Designations and Nomenclature of Celestial Objects):

Q: What is the legal status in the field?

A: The IAU is the sole internationally recognised authority for naming celestial bodies and surface features on them. And names are not sold, but assigned according to internationally accepted rules.

Q: What does this mean in practice?

A: The facts are simple: Names assigned by the IAU are recognised and used by scientists, space agencies, and authorities worldwide. When observing stars and planets or launching space missions to them, or just reporting about them in the news, everybody needs to know exactly what a name means, and the names assigned by the IAU are those that are used. These rules are firm where claims of property could theoretically be made, i.e. primarily in the solar system (where also UN conventions apply). Terrestrial makers of international law have so far had more urgent concerns than creating rules for "buying" totally inaccessible corners of infinite space, so there is no written text that can be twisted and interpreted - just a plain and practical fact.

Q: But if I want to, can I buy the name of a star anyway?

A: Sure, lots of people will be happy to sell you one...

Q: Can you tell me who and where?

A: Sorry, we are a scientific organization dealing with facts and do not maintain address files of enterprises selling fictive goods.

Q: OK, I found a dealer myself; what will I get from them?

A: An expensive piece of paper and a temporary feeling of happiness, like if you decide to prefer a cup of tea to the Doctor's recommended medicine; except you do not risk getting sick, only losing money.

Q: And that name is unique, right?

A: If the company is smart, it will be unique in their list. Otherwise you can probably sue them. But there are more than enough stars for everybody who wants to buy the name of one. However, no countries, authorities, or scientists in the world will recognise "your" name for the star. Nothing prevents your or any other dealer from selling "your" star to anyone else. And just think of all the other stars in the Universe that also have planets with smart business people on them...

Q: The name is preserved forever, other customers say?

A: Sorry, not even that: The name you have been paid for can be ignored, forgotten, or sold again to anyone else by anyone else after you (or the persons you wanted to honour) are dead. Or, for that matter, it can even happen anytime before that.

Q: Surely the courts will recognise the name I have paid for??

A: Try to contact your lawyers. Chances are that they will either laugh their heads off or politely suggest that you could invest their fees more productively...

Q: But what about the companies that sell pieces of territory on the Moon and other planets? Those are within reach, we know, so surely I own the piece that I have bought?

A: See the answer to the previous question...

Q: The IAU pretends to be in charge of the sky - why don't you DO something about this??!!

A: Sorry, much as we would like to, we are not under the illusion that the IAU can eradicate charlatanry: It has survived and thrived for countless centuries in many disguises - some more dangerous to people's health or wealth than this particular scam. All we can do is warn the public and try to prevent the most outrageous abuses of our name and scientific reputation.