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

Sol

[jawtheshark]

I call dibs on "Sol" ;-)

Re:Sol

[Mordok-DestroyerOfWo]

Stars are cute when they're young, but they grow up

Re:Sol

[residieu]

Can I sue you when I get sunburn?

Re:Sol

[jawtheshark]

Sure, but I'm going to charge you per kilowatt you use up every day.

They should use this here on earth

[CowboyNealOption]

Maybe people could adopt individual grains of sand at the beach, to raise money to help keep the beaches clean. The hard part is writing the chosen names with a sharpie on each grain of sand.

Re:They should use this here on earth

[cmacb]

You beat me to it.

I sort-of fell for the Name-a-Star scam back in the 80s (sort-of because I knew the list wasn't completely official, but it made a nice change of pace from flowers as a gift... you mean, every scientist in the world isn't regularly referring to this speck in the sky by my mothers name?). So now we are starting all over again, but this time "it's for a good cause"?

How about adopting carbon atoms as a way to cure global warming:

(1) For $10 set to my PayPal address I'll insure that a specific carbon atom *with your name associated with it!* doesn't find its way back into the atmosphere.

(2) Profit!

Or has Al Gore already thought of this?

Jeez, and I thought...

[Weaselmancer]

...vanity plates were bad.

Is this a Russian Bride scam???

[EmbeddedJanitor]

How long before I get emails from my so-called star saying:"I've been captured by a bunch of NASA thugs wearing white coats and black spectacles. OMG they want to delete my itunes library I don't give then $10,000!!!!Please send $10,0000 to....

Another scam like International Star Registry?

[Electric Eye]

I remember hearing all those commercials that you could name a star after someone. I was actually dumb enough to do it for a girlfriend. When we got the "chart" the star was.... made up! They actually put a black dot from a magic marker on it.
This sounds oddly familiar.

How about getting NASA's money back from George Bush's bogus faith-based programs?

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.

Re:Another scam like International Star Registry?

[Dogtanian]

I remember hearing all those commercials that you could name a star after someone. I was actually dumb enough to do it for a girlfriend. When we got the "chart" the star was.... made up! They actually put a black dot from a magic marker on it.

Black? That sounds suspiciously like she didn't get a star named after her, she got a black hole instead.

The people at the registry told me that this was because they heard your girlfriend was an oversized groupie who had a reputation for sucking stars and anything else in the vicinity...

Re:Another scam like International Star Registry?

[syousef]

What I want to know is what moron decided that starting a similar scam would be a good way to get funding. Any credible astronomer will denounce such nonsense as the star registry so for a credible organisation to start doing this is madness. Someone with too much marketing training and too little scientific training needs to get the sack (or at least a severe reprimand).

Is this like health class?

[kiehlster]

I remember in high school the who baby care/egg care thing where you (and a pair of classmates) had to take turns watching a fake baby or an egg for a few days. That was my first thought on adopting a star. Oh dang, my star esploded! Does that mean I get a zero on my report card?

Meanwhile, other classmates are laughing because their star is not going anywhere for another 2 million years.

Re:Is this like health class?

[corbettw]

I remember in high school the who baby care/egg care thing where you (and a pair of classmates) had to take turns watching a fake baby or an egg for a few days.

We had to care for the egg? Man, no wonder I flunked that class.

Oh well, a man's gotta eat.

I'll adopt Scarlett Johansson

[Locutus]

oh, THOSE kinds of stars. Never mind.

LoB

Re:I'll adopt Scarlett Johansson

[StarReaver]

Well, SOME stars are large enough to have planets orbiting around them...

I hope they have good marketing

[PingXao]

In the NYC area there's a company that advertises frequently on local radio. International Star Registry will actually name a star after someone and actually register the name in book form at the US Copyright Office. All for only $50. Makes a great gift.

I hope Adopt-A-Star is prepared to compete with the likes of this sham business that preys on the gullible. They must be making money because their ads are frequent around the holidays and they've been on for years. It's disgusting that real science goes wanting for lack of funds but sleazebags make money hand over fist.

Planet Jermaine

[Vituperator]

This reminds me of that Flight of the Conchords episode...

Murray: There's something I need to talk to you about. It's not good news. Planet Jermaine. It's supernova-ed. Yeah, there's nothing left of it apparently, just a huge gaseous cloud and the beginning of a black hole.

Jermaine: When did this happen?

Murray: About 4 million years ago.

Re:So tempted

[amRadioHed]

Obviously he's using absolute magnitudes.

But the planets...

[Anonymous Coward]

For a small donation, early adopters get a certificate by email and updates when any planets are found around their adopted star.

A certificate? If I adopt the star I want DEEDS for any planets that are discovered. And rent when folks get there.

Sorry, Sold Out

[tillerman35]

I went to their web site, but apparently all the stars have already been adopted by Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and Madonna.

I'll pass.

[Renderer of Evil]

For $10 donation I'd expect to give the star a proper name of my choosing, instead of arcane stellar classifications like LBV 1807-21.

Giving Alms?

[Markvs]

Since when is making a donation to a Public Charity either News for Nerds or Stuff that matters?

"White Dwarf Research Corporation is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to scientific research and public education on topics relevant to white dwarf stars." http://www.guidestar.org/pqShowGsReport.do?partner=networkforgood&ein=74-2924755/

...there's nothing that states on their page nor on any other I could find that they actually work WITH NASA on any sort of project, nor that any money donated will go to THIS project.

Basically this is just a fundraiser. It could just as easily been for the research into finding Natalie Portman's image in a bowl of hot grits.

*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