Star Points for June, 1999; by Curtis Roelle A Star by Any Name Would Shine As Brightly Have you perhaps ever wondered where star names come from? The common names in use for the best known stars date back to antiquity. Quite a few brighter stars such as Betelgeuse and Deneb have Arabic names. So do a number of lesser known stars like Alphard and Mizar. There are some 6,000 stars visible to the unaided eye. Do all of these have names? The convention used by astronomers involves assigning greek letters to the stars within a constellation. Although variations exist, typically the brightest star is designated Alpha, the next brightest Beta, on down to Omega. The letter is followed by the "possessive" or "genitive" form of the constellation name such that Leo the lion's brightest star Regulus becomes Alpha Leonis. When the letters run out the stars are assigned integer numbers from west to east starting with 1. These numerical designations are called Flamsteed numbers. Various catalogs are employed for designating even fainter stars. The greek letters, Flamsteed numbers, and catalog designations are not true names. This gives rise to a question that astronomers are often asked: "Is it possible for me to officially designate a name for a star?" The quick answer to this question is no. The International Astronomical Union, a professional organization of astronomers, is the sole internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and to features on their surfaces. The IAU explicitly states that it "dissociates itself entirely from the commercial practice of 'selling' fictitious names of stars." A number of businesses exist in various countries of the world including this one that peddle stars for the purpose of allowing a customer to register a name of choice for a fee. Nothing may prevent an unscrupulous company from selling the same star multiple times, or from printing up certificates for stars which don't even exist. What are the chances that a customer would bother to check out the authenticity of the star by looking it up in a star atlas or through a telescope? Another problem with the registries is that stars sold in one country might also be sold by a different company in another country. Who then is the true owner? Multiply this by the number of planets in the galaxy where stars are being auctioned off and you begin to appreciate why the IAU deems the selling of stars, whose gargantuan dimensions and vast distances prohibit delivery of the merchandise, as absurd. Indeed, all the purchase of a star nets the customer is a paper certificate and perhaps the enjoyment of making someone happy by the gesture. Like the psychic friends hot line seen on T.V. star registry businesses are for entertainment purposes only. If one understands that star registries are just for fun and that one cannot truly buy a star or coin a name, then nobody should get hurt by the transaction. The IAU's "Layman's Guide to Buying Star Names" is on the web at http://www.intastun.org/starnames.html. It is a little tongue-in- cheek in places, such as in addressing the issue of seeking legal aid to protect a claim of stellar ownership: "Chances are [your lawyers] will either laugh their heads off or politely suggest that you could invest their fees more productively." The stars are there for us all to enjoy. They belong to nobody and everybody at the same time. One part of a star that can belong to the individual are the light rays that enter your eyes the moment you look up and open them. Starlight cannot be bought or taken away.