CONSUMER protection watchdogs in New York City have charged a company that
offers to 鈥渙fficially鈥� name stars with deceptive advertising.
The International Star Registry, based in Ingleside, Illinois, claims to have
named over half a million stars since 1979. For a fee of $48, plus
shipping and handling, it offers to name an unassigned star for you. Customers
are given a certificate and a sky chart showing their star鈥檚 location. The
company claims the charts are those 鈥渦sed to guide the Hubble telescope鈥�.
But astronomers say that the registry鈥檚 names have no official status. The
International Astronomical Union assigns names to asteroids, comets and
planetary satellites in the Solar System. But stars are simply numbered. 鈥淪tars
aren鈥檛 named, they鈥檙e catalogued,鈥� says Dan Green, an astronomer at the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Jules Polonetsky, New York City鈥檚 Commissioner of Consumer Affairs, alerted
his department鈥檚 legal office after hearing one of the company鈥檚 radio ads. The
department has now cited the International Star Registry for 10 civil counts of
deceptive trade practices, which could carry a total fine of $3500.
The International Star Registry鈥檚 general manager, Tad Mosele, says the
company has never faced similar charges. 鈥淲e have our attorney working on this,鈥�
he says.