I’ve been hearing advertisements on the radio for years now, urging us to “name a star for a loved one” by sending $35 to the International Star Registry. Is this outfit for real? If I send my $35, will there be a legitimate star in the actual sky named for me? And will this name be internationally recognized forever? –Eric Lundberg, Chicago
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Unfortunately, no matter who you pay your money to the only way your star will be “internationally recognized” is if you tell your brother-in-law about it in Tobago. The only accepted authority on star naming is the International Astronomical Union, which has no connection with the International Star Registry or any other such outfit. The IAU calls attempts to exploit the general ignorance on this subject a “deplorable commercial trick.”
In 1985 the copyright office issued a statement disavowing any connection with star registry services. It refused to grant copyright to a reel of microfilm submitted by ISR, although it did so later when the list was resubmitted in a different format. Library officials also pressured ISR to stop mentioning the L. of C. in the firm’s promotions. ISR agreed, but a brochure the firm recently sent me shows a sample star registration certificate in which “Library of Congress” still figures prominently. An ISR spokesperson says I got an old brochure. Right.
Halley went on from this to suggest a cockeyed theory of how you could calculate the age of the earth based on measurements of the increasing saltiness of the ocean. Scientists regard this brainstorm today with an expression of pain. His explanation for why the salt is there in the first place, however, remains pretty much the last word on the subject.
