In the old times people spent a lot more time looking at the sky

and searching for the answer to their various problems and preoccupations among the stars. Almost any culture abounds in myths, legends and stories about stars. At the time, symbolism, light intensity and even religious considerations made people name a star in a certain way. Presently, official astrological institutions only name bigger stars, while the smaller ones are recognized by numbers for classification. Comets and asteroids are also given names, but everything tends to be well organized and structured so as to allow a quick and efficient identification on the sky map.

Little by little, a popular trend grew out to name a star after a person dear to you; people want to show love or respect and assign names to already classified stars found in Astrophysical Observatory Catalogs. The company that offers any name a star service should be registered with the copywrite office in order to have legal support for the activity ; yet, remember that even if you name a star, the title is not official, but personal and highly sentimental. Although commonly used by non-astronomers, this form of service depends on the official coordinates and the scientifical classification assigned to the celestial body in question.

The scientific references taken as background for star identification and popular naming include the Smithsonian catalog, the Hubble Space Telescope catalog and the Messier catalog. The star naming company has to specify which reference they use so as to make differentiation both between the stars and between the other companies with the same range of activity. If you name a star you simply give it a different meaning personal and subjective in nature, but you definitely do not generate a scientific designation. It is also possible to choose the constellation you want to name a star from, and many companies have this option included on the order form.

The star brightness and the proximity to earth are the factors that influence star choice, as the visibility level increases with closeness. Therefore, you should choose to name a star with a magnitude of ten or less so that you may be able to see it with a good telescope if not with a naked eye or a pair of binoculars. Very polluted regions are not hte best place to watch stars, and only cold winter days with little dust in the atmosphere could make observation possible. One thing that you should know is the fact that individual star selection is not possible, you only have freedom as far as the choice of the constellation.