Selling Star Names

Can I see a star I bought?

We get inquires regarding buying stars or viewing bought stars through our telescopes. The Rothney Astrophysical Observatory cannot accommodate requests to view purchased stars. Several reasons prevent us from fulfilling this request including, stars purchased are too difficult to locate due to low brightness (magnitude) and not enough information provided by vendor. If you decide to purchase a star, please request the vendor to provide information on how they can assist you in observing the star.

The RAO plans our observing for public events to ensure everyone has a chance to look through a telescope at something spectacular such as globular clusters and planetary nebula. This process takes planning and time and we love to bring that experience to our visitors.

We are all stardust.

Can I Buy a Star?

We encourage you to consider the information provided by the International Astronomical Union regarding whether or not a star can be purchased. Star names purchased through vendors are not part of the official IAU records or any other scientific star catalogues. 

Statement from IAU:

As an international scientific organization, the IAU dissociates itself entirely from the commercial practice of "selling" fictitious star names, surface feature 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 these businesses 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.

IAU website