Naming Stars - Should You Call Stars Anything You Wish?

In the antiquity, the stars were not just beautiful objects of study but also the repository of hidden knowledge that gave solutions to people's problems and made possible daily choices. Almost any culture abounds in myths, legends and stories about stars. At the time, symbolism, light intensity and even religious considerations made people name a star in a certain way. Nowadays, official astrological institutions only name bigger stars, while the smaller ones are simply cataloged by numbers. Comets and asteroids receive names too, but everything tends to be well organized and structured so as to allow a quick and efficient identification on the sky map.

Many people choose to name a star as a love proof or a special gift for a dear person; nevertheless the stars thus named are already classified in Astrophysical Observatory Catalogs. The company that offers any name a star service should be registered with the copywrite office in order to have legal support for the activity ; yet, keep in mind the fact that even if you name a star, the title is not official, but personal and highly sentimental. Although commonly used by non-astronomers, this type of service depends on the official coordinates and the scientifical classification assigned to the celestial body in question.

The most common resources to name a star include the Hubble Space Telescope catalog, the Messier catalog or the Smithsonian catalog. The star naming company has to specify the resource used so as to make a distinction both between the stars and between the other companies with the same range of activity. When you name a star you do not create a scientific designation but rather a meaningful gesture that is understood by a few people close to you. You may be allowed to take a pick at the constellation you want to name a star from, and many service providers have created fill-in forms with this option included.

The star brightness and the proximity to earth are the factors that influence star choice, as the visibility level increases with closeness. Therefore, The best choice is a star with a magnitude below ten so that you may watch it with a good telescope if not with a naked eye or a pair of binoculars. People living in areas with high levels of pollution will have difficulties in spotting their star, and only cold winter days with little dust in the atmosphere could make observation possible. One thing that also needs a special mention is the fact that individual star selection is not possible, you only have freedom as far as the choice of the constellation.