Sirva este post para poner en aviso a todos aquellos hombres románticos y no versados en astronomía sobre una estafa bastante extendida gracias a las películas de genero romántico y de la que, por desgracia (y falta de investigación), sigue habiendo felices víctimas.
La IAU (siglas de International Astronomical Union, en español Unión Astronómica Internacional) es tajante en su veredicto: no se puede comprar una estrella ni su nombre.
Texto extraído de la web oficial de la NASA:
http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/star_worldbook.html
Names of stars.
Ancient people saw that certain stars are arranged in patterns shaped somewhat like human beings, animals, or common objects. Some of these patterns, called constellations, came to represent figures of mythological characters. For example, the constellation Orion (the Hunter) is named after a hero in Greek mythology.
Today, astronomers use constellations, some of which were described by the ancients, in the scientific names of stars. The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the world authority for assigning names to celestial objects, officially recognizes 88 constellations. These constellations cover the entire sky. In most cases, the brightest star in a given constellation has alpha — the first letter of the Greek alphabet — as part of its scientific name. For instance, the scientific name for Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra (the Harp), is Alpha Lyrae. Lyrae is Latin for of Lyra.
The second brightest star in a constellation is usually designated beta, the second letter of the Greek alphabet, the third brightest is gamma, and so on. The assignment of Greek letters to stars continues until all the Greek letters are used. Numerical designations follow.
But the number of known stars has become so large that the IAU uses a different system for newly discovered stars. Most new names consist of an abbreviation followed by a group of symbols. The abbreviation stands for either the type of star or a catalog that lists information about the star. For example, PSR J1302-6350 is a type of star known as a pulsar — hence the PSR in its name. The symbols indicate the star’s location in the sky. The 1302 and the 6350 are coordinates that are similar to the longitude and latitude designations used to indicate locations on Earth’s surface. The J indicates that a coordinate system known as J2000 is being used.
Ya que la IAU es la autoridad mundial para asignar nombres a los cuerpos celestes, busquemos información en su web oficial sobre la opción de poder comprar el nombre de una estrella.
Texto extraído de la web oficial de la IAU:
http://www.iau.org/public_press/themes/buying_star_names/
Buying Stars and Star Names
The IAU frequently receives requests from individuals who want to buy stars or name stars after other persons. Some commercial enterprises purport to offer such services for a fee. However, such “names” have no formal or official validity whatever: A few bright stars have ancient, traditional Arabic names, but otherwise stars have just catalogue numbers and positions on the sky. Similar rules on “buying” names apply to star clusters and galaxies as well. For bodies in the Solar System , special procedures for assigning official names apply (see the IAU theme “Naming Astronomical Objects”), but in no case are commercial transactions involved.
As an international scientific organization, the IAU dissociates itself entirely from the commercial practice of “selling” fictitious star names or “real estate” on other planets or moons in the Solar System. Accordingly, the IAU maintains no list of the (several competing) enterprises in this business in individual countries of the world. Readers wanting to contact such enterprises despite the explanations given below should search commercial directories in their country of origin.
In the past, certain such enterprises have suggested to customers that the IAU is somehow associated with, recognizes, approves, or even actively collaborates in their business. The IAU wishes to make it totally clear that any such claim is patently false and unfounded. The IAU will appreciate being informed, with appropriate documentation, of all cases of illegal abuse of its name, and will pursue all documented cases by all available means.
Mercaderes, esos personajes enfrascados en que les compres lo que no necesitas al precio que no debes.
Captain Bryant.