Adopt-a-Star To Fund Research

Travis writes "An international collaboration of astronomers is taking a unique approach to funding their research, through an 'adopt-a-star' program. Preparing for the launch of NASA's Kepler satellite next February, the group will help characterize thousands of stars that the mission will be searching for evidence of Earth-like planets. For a small donation, early adopters get a certificate by email and updates when any planets are found around their adopted star."

Comments

U.S. only

[Anonymous Coward]

If this is an "international collaboration", then why do you need a US address to donate using a credit card?

Re:So tempted

[amRadioHed]

Obviously he's using absolute magnitudes.

Re:Another scam like International Star Registry?

[jd]

If you trace far enough in that direction, you (almost always) eventually reach a star. There are only a handful of places in the sky where there are "holes" big enough to see the light from the first galaxies.

This gets me onto another train of thought. Maps of early cosmic radiation tend to be based heavily on extrapolation and calculation, rather than direct observation, because there simply isn't enough sky that does not have any stars, gas clouds, nebulae, pulsars, magnetars, black holes, quasars, etc, to get a directly measurable reading. Everything I've listed will emit and/or absorb and/or lens electromagnetic radiation, including early background. You can get an adequate low-res map by just measuring directly (as the early experimentors did), but you can't get an accurate, high-definition map of what was actually there without some sort of adaptation. You can't assume it's all evenly modified, as you can see gas clouds in one direction, stars in another, and (most important) holes to the very early Universe in yet others. Clearly, the three cases will result in different degrees and types of alteration from the "true" historic values, so to get the "true" historic values, you must subtract out as much of the later noise as you sensibly can.

*Safe* Star Adoption Can't Use Physics......Yet.

[Magdalene]

Aside from the obvious Larry Niven geek jokes:(I get to name *my* star Hearth heh.. No wait. 61 Ursa Majoris!) Would this charity have an indemnity clause should the star system be already occupied and named by another intelligent species? If it was already occupied by said species they then would send their interstellar solicitors and possibly militia to earth to charge those involved!

• Who would be held accountable?
  What would alien punishment or sentencing encompass??
  Would we be liable???
  what if it is the death penalty, via planatary vapourisation????

aieeee!!!!!

This 'adoption' business is not something to be taken as lightly as they have been taking it. They must think of the consequences. {WARNING : the following question contains another geek reference, those with weak science fiction tolerance should skip to the next paragraph now. If you are unsure of your tolerance level; you can get an approximate estimate by calculating how many RL dates you have been on in the last month, if dates > 0 you may want to at least wear protective glasses. } What if they are Thrintun , or Kzinti?

{we now return you to your regular programming.}

One has to be careful, and in order to do that one must practice safe star adoption.

Personally this one has yet to see a company that makes a French safe that could stand the 2400 to 25000 Kelvin temperatures.

-M