About the Intergalactic Star Database

Since 2004 the Intergalactic Star Database has been helping people mark the moments that matter by naming a star. More than a quarter of a million stars have been registered with us, as birthday and Christmas presents, for weddings and new babies, and in memory of someone loved.

A real star, recorded under your name

Every star we register is a real one. From November 2026 each new star is chosen from the Hipparcos catalogue, the star map made by the European Space Agency's Hipparcos satellite, and is listed with its catalogue number, its exact position in the sky and its constellation.

When you name a star, it is entered in the Intergalactic Star Database with its own Database Number and the name you choose. No star is given to two people in our registry.

What changed in 2026

For more than twenty years our registry was kept privately. In November 2026 we opened our online registry, so every star registered from then on can be found on this website. Enter its Database Number and you can see the star in the night sky, and print its Certificate of Registry and Star Area Co-ordinates Sheet at home whenever you like.

Stars registered before November 2026 are held in our original registry, which isn't connected to this website. If you have one of those, here is what you can do.

The gift

Each star comes in a gift pack, posted to your door:

• Certificate of Registry, with the star's name, Database Number, catalogue number and constellation
• Star Area Co-ordinates Sheet, with the star's position, brightness, a chart of its part of the sky and a graph of when it is highest
• Welcome letter, an introduction to your star
• Fold-out star chart of the night sky, to find its constellation

Honest about what a star name is

The name you choose is recorded in our registry. Astronomers and official star catalogues use their own names and numbers, so your star's name won't appear in scientific records. We think it is better to say that plainly. Read more about how star naming works.