Name a Star: a keepsake with real coordinates

What it does

You enter who the star is for, who it is from, and a line of your own. Name a Star picks a real star out of the public catalogues astronomers use and shows its actual details: catalogue designation, constellation, brightness, coordinates and distance in light-years. If it does not feel right, ask for another, for one with a traditional name, or let it surprise you.

What comes out is a certificate you can download as a PDF in portrait or landscape, a link that opens the live sky at that exact star, and a QR code printed on the certificate that leads to the same place. There is also a tall image for stories. Nothing is bought, nothing expires.

How to use it

1. Type the two names — who it is for, and who it is from.
2. Add a line of your own if you want one, up to 140 characters, plus the occasion and date.
3. Press “Find their star” and look at what came up: designation, constellation, distance.
4. Not quite right? Ask for a different star, a named one, or a surprise.
5. Make the certificate, download the PDF and send the link. Both are yours to keep.

What makes it different

It says out loud what the paid sites will not. Only the International Astronomical Union names stars, and no website can change that, so nothing here carries a fake seal or the word “official”. What is real is the star itself: the coordinates come from the public HYG and Hipparcos catalogues, the same ones astronomers work from.

And it costs nothing. The sites that sell this charge for a PDF and a name in a private register; here the certificate, the live sky page and the share link are free, with no account and no upsell.

Questions

Is the star officially named after them?

No, and no service can do that — only the International Astronomical Union names stars. What you are giving is a keepsake tied to a real star, and the page says so plainly instead of hiding it in the small print.

Are the coordinates real?

Yes. They come from the public HYG and Hipparcos catalogues, the ones astronomers actually use. The designation, constellation, magnitude and distance all belong to that star.

What do I actually hand over?

A PDF certificate in portrait or landscape, a link that opens the live sky at that star, and a QR code on the certificate that goes to the same page. A 9:16 image is there too, for sending as a story.

Does it cost anything, or need an account?

Neither. Everything is free and there is nothing to sign up for, before or after.