![]() According to the IAU’s website, with multiple entities that sell naming rights to stars, there’s no guarantee that a star you pay to name hasn’t already been paid for and named by someone else. Most of them receive alphanumeric names, like WASP-127 b. ![]() The International Astronomical Union is the body responsible for naming stars and other celestial objects. Sadly, those sales are legally for naught, Bell said. Other companies have also sold extraterrestrial real estate. It’s really no different than some of the hucksterism that was done in the 19th century, convincing people that this is valid with a certificate.”įor years now, companies have been selling the naming rights to stars. It’s not recognized by any of the governing bodies or scientific societies of the world. No matter how romantic or special it may be to gift someone a part of the night sky, Bell advises not to waste your money on those. What about those certificates you can buy that allow you to name stars? ![]() That’s because, in 1967, the United Nations ratified its Outer Space Treaty, which states that “outer space shall be free for exploration and use by all States.”Īccording to the treaty, any past, present or future sales of stars, moons, planets or asteroids are null and void. “So it would require, I think, a pretty hefty change in international law to suddenly allow folks to be owning our solar system or other solar systems.” “I mean, we’ve sort of agreed, as a civilization, that nobody can own a planet or moon or a comet or an asteroid,” Bell said. At least according to international space law, Bell said. Could Lil Uzi Vert actually ever own a planet?Īlso no. So Marketplace put some of them to Jim Bell, a professor at Arizona State’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and former president of the Planetary Society. Who the heck buys a planet? Who the heck sells a planet? Why would Lil Uzi Vert want to own an interstellar body that would take more than 5,000 years to travel to? (That’s if, by one estimate, he was traveling at the current theoretical spacecraft speed limit: 10% the speed of light.) How much would it cost? Could there perhaps be a wiser way for Lil Uzi Vert to use his money?Īll of these questions are of profound scientific and existential significance.
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