The International Star Registry definitely falls into the “why didn’t I think of that?” category. For $54, the company will name a star for you. (No ownership stake is granted, so your outer space real estate speculation may not pay dividends in the event of future colonization efforts.)
I was recently invited to join their affiliate program, which I happily accepted. The invitation said Mother’s Day is typically one of their busiest times of the year. After all, what says I love you more than a flaming ball of gas named after mom?
Your star registration includes:
- A beautiful 16″ x 12″ full color parchment certificate personalized with the star name, date and coordinates.
- A personalized 16″ x 12″ sky chart containing the star name, star date, the constellation and the location circled in red where the star is in the sky.
- A booklet on astronomy written by a professional astronomer with additional sky charts.
- A letter of congratulations/memorial for the recipient.
The International Star Registry is the greatest business idea ever because:
- They have no inventory costs.
- They have a nearly unlimited supply of stars to name (400+ billion with a b, just in our galaxy). And if they run out, they could probably start doubling-up without the two customers ever finding out.
- Aside from paper and postage, they have zero “cost of goods sold.” They don’t pay royalties to NASA or anybody else for the naming rights. In fact, a small disclaimer on their site says “International Star Registry star naming is not recognized by the scientific community. Your star’s name is reserved in International Star Registry records only.”
But such a golden opportunity couldn’t last long without competition. I searched google for “name a star” and found lots of other companies offering the same service as the International Star Registry, and undercutting their prices by quite a bit. One site will even let you name a star for free!
For more reading, I also found an interesting Wired article on the subject.
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Tags: business
How much to name a star?
Packages range from $54 to $155 at ISR. Other services are cheaper or even free at FreeNameAStar.com.
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