I have a buddy who recently got married and became a father about a week ago. We used to be roommates and were both interested in physics, cosmology, etc. so I wanted to get him some fun, tounge-in-cheek gifts to celebrate the two big occassions in his life. For Peter I am going to buy him a ‘can of dark matter’ that a local science store sells in its novelty item sections, the proceeds of which go to local children’s charities. I know he will get a kick out of it. For his wife I want to name a star after her and have it registered or whatever it is you do. And I want to buy little sammy a foot or yard of lunar real estate.
What I’m wondering is if the star registry sites and the lunar real estate sites are legitimate. I don’t want to see his wife or son embroiled in bitter lawsuits down the line over right of property or domain. Are these sites for real and how do they get the legal right to sell and register without having someone come in right on top of them and do the same thing?
I don’t know about the lunar land thing, but the star registry is not really what I’d call legit. As far as I know they do what they say they will, i.e. assign your name to a star (a very minor one that you probably won’t be able to find in the sky), put it in some book, and send you a certificate, but there’s nothing official about it. Several star catalogs and naming systems already exist that different astronomers use professionally. No star has only one official designation that supersedes all others. The star registry is no more than a novelty gift. If you’re happy with that, and you think the giftee will appreciate it, go ahead. Personally, I think they’re taking advantage of people’s gullibility.
AFAIK the moon is protected by international treaties and is recognized as belonging to everybody. No country or private company can make a legitimate claim on lunar territory.
The can of dark matter sounds like a humorous gift but I have to admit if you gave me a star registry or lunar real estate as a gift you would receive in return my best, but awkward and insincere, attempt at expressing gratitude. I would also secretly thing slightly less of you as a person, in the same way that I would someone who fell for an obvious Nigerian 419 scam.
The star registry isn’t technically a scam, since it seems they do what they say they will: stick your name in a book next to a star and send you a certificate. However statements such as “registered with the U.S. Copyright Office” are clearly attempts to attach a level of officialdom to their operation that simply does not exist. This makes me think of them, at least in spirit, as a scam and their customers as victims of a scam. Getting this as a gift would be lame and awkward.
To answer the “are they for real” question directly: no, they are not for real. At least, no more for real then me saying if you gave me $100 I’d send you a piece of paper with your name next to a star.
You could pick out a star and name it after yourself, or claim a square foot of lunar real estate, and it would have exactly the same state of “officialness” as the star or lunar real estate registries . IMHO they’re basically scam; they have zero authority to name stars or sell lunar land.
You are not buying the dark matter or the star or the lunar soil. You are buying the can and the certificate. Period.
Just out of curiosity, what possible bizarre, twisted train of logic could you have come up with in your brain to ever think these could be legitimate in the first place? That’s the question that really interests me. If you’re asking the question, then there must be some way in which you could think that some novelty company really and truly had some right to sell lunar soil. How does that belief come to be? I’ve never heard anybody answer that question and I’d like to press you on it now that I have the chance.
If you simply wanted to know how I came to ask this question, just ask it straightforward without the insults.
I saw somebody at another wedding get a star and everyone thought it was humorous and the bride and groom appreciated it. The star was named Debraditie after the bride. Can’t remember where I heard about the Lunar real estate.
At some point in time you heard about this and even though you might have called bullshit right from the get, you nonetheless checked to find out the specifics. That’s all I’m doing here, the same basic thing you have done.
I think the joke with the dark matter can is that there really is dark matter inside the can when it is closed. Of course, as soon as you open it, the matter is no longer dark. Unless you’re in a darkroom. Fortunately, putting the lid back on restores the dark matter, so you haven’t lost it permanently.
It’s kind of like the quantum physics jokes my high school chemistry teacher and I used to tell each other.
Stars and moon plots are no more “legitimate,” but they do work well for people with a lower geek factor.
I wouldn’t group the dark matter can with the star or lunar registry, as it is more an obvious joke rather than a scam. I also didn’t see any sign that the opening post was suggesting the dark matter was legitimate in any way.