# Can I really name a star after someone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 23, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-really-name-a-star-after-someone/220585 "2003-12-23T02:55:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-really-name-a-star-after-someone/220585/21 "2003-12-23T13:53:04Z")
The only stars I know of officially named after people are Sualocin and Rotanev, named after Nicolaus Rotanev (an early 19th century Italian astronomer), and also Regor (also called Suhail) and Navi, otherwise Roger (Chafee) and Ivan, the middle name of Gus Grissom; these last two names were included in official NASA maps by Grissom as a practical joke, and remain in use in many places as a kind of memorial since their deaths. [http://www.space.com/spacewatch/star\_names\_030829.html](http://www.space.com/spacewatch/star_names_030829.html) ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-really-name-a-star-after-someone/220585/22 "2003-12-23T14:12:18Z")
oops - that should be Nicolaus _Venator_- seems it is ok to name a star after someone if you do it backwards and in secret… ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Matrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/34f0e0/32.png) [@Red\_Matrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Matrix)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-really-name-a-star-after-someone/220585/23 "2003-12-23T22:41:58Z")
I hereby name the 10th suspected planet, formally known as Planet X, as **Divad**. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-really-name-a-star-after-someone/220585/24 "2003-12-23T23:11:38Z")
[Why reach for the stars, when you have the moon?](http://www.moonshop.com/) It’s complete with a highly polished page design, tasteful background and everything. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-really-name-a-star-after-someone/220585/25 "2003-12-24T00:09:48Z")
I’m sure I read this in **BadAstronomer** ’s book, _Bad Astronomy_, but it seems there are people who buy this certificate and then take it to an observatory asking to be able to see “their” star. It is not always a pleasant experience, especially when they bought a star to name after a recently deceased relative. ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-really-name-a-star-after-someone/220585/26 "2003-12-24T02:03:18Z")
[The Master Speaks.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_385.html) I notice that in Cecil’s column, the price mentioned was $35. I didn’t realize that scam artists were subject to inflation, too. [sub]24 posts and no one links to Cecil’s column on this? For shame![/sub] 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-really-name-a-star-after-someone/220585/27 "2003-12-24T02:24:09Z")
Look, Mildred! It’s **Bob** , the friendly star! ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-really-name-a-star-after-someone/220585/28 "2003-12-24T03:17:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*Send me $1,000,000 and I’ll name a COUNTRY after you. How would you like to be able to drive around Bobland, or the People’s Republic of Bob? I’m sure the Mexicans won’t mind, it’s not as if I plan to tell them. \*\* But the folks up in [the Northwest territories](http://www.caldercup.com/CNEWSNunavut/feature11.html) might be a liitle peeved. > [@](#): > > Within the Western Arctic, residents and politicians must decide what name they want for their soon-to-be-shrunken territory. An informal poll two years ago showed strong sentiment for keeping Northwest Territories, while the joke name “Bob” was a distant runner-up [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-really-name-a-star-after-someone/220585.md?page=1)