[AZ-Observing] Re: Spam Astronomicus

 Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. One of the oldest
scams in astronomy, selling the naming of stars, has gone online.

The "star registry" thing comes up every Christmas, and the public always
asks if star registries have sort of official status. Every year,
astronomers have to tell them no. But I've been thinking: why don't official
astronomical organizations sell naming rights on minor celestial bodies to
raise cash for professional astronomy? We could offer "buy a small star for
$100" as a casual gift, taking the business away from the scammers and
raising only for new observatories and space missions. Naming rights for
asteroids could potentially sell for a lot more. Now that LONEOS is finding
lots of new asteroids, why not cash in on this? Anyone who will lay out the
cash for a Hummer is likely to spring for immortality as "15859 Josephblow".


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