At which point does it become viable to sell somebody the right to name an inanimate object? I suppose if there’s an ample market of willing customers then the sky’s the limit, but surely there is some kind of threshold? A star seems to qualify to such an extent that many people are willing to believe that a small payment gives them the power to legally name it however they wish. Maybe it’s the sheer mass of the star that gives you your value for money, or maybe it’s the romantic notion of seeing it twinkling in the night sky. Would an asteroid, mountain, or hill suffice? As with some financial instruments and other contractual agreements the value often relies on the legitimacy of the issuer. That’s why the IAU sorts all this crap out…
International Astronomical Union – buying star names
International Year of Astronomy 2009
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