Re: Could the IAU *officially* assign star names for a fee?

From: Chris L Peterson (clp_at_alumni.caltech.edu)
Date: 03/12/05 

Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 16:04:53 GMT

On 12 Mar 2005 07:41:14 -0800, rgregoryclark@yahoo.com wrote:

> Let me ask a hypothetical. Suppose the proceeds from this naming was
>in the hundreds of millions of dollars *annually* range...
>
>...do you think professional astronomers would object to including these
>personal designations in their papers EVEN IF IT ONLY HAD TO APPEAR AT
>THE END IN THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS?

Many might be willing, at least if their own work was supported by such
funding. But in my opinion, you might as well suppose "what if pigs
could fly?" Or suppose that it raises 10 billion dollars a year, which
strikes me as being about as likely as hundreds of millions.

But, as I suggested before... set up a company, do some bona fide market
research, and if it looks good take your proposal to the IAU. Certainly,
they aren't going to get involved in something like that on their own.
(And a word of warning- ISR has sued others for interfering with their
business, so you might want to reserve a good legal budget. Harassment
suits can be expensive, and these days ISR might even be granted a
business practices patent on what they do!)

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

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