A star for Father's Day

Name a star for someone special on the Intergalactic Star Database.

Father's Day in the UK is on Sunday 20 June in 2027, and the shops will once again suggest socks. A star named after your dad, with a sheet of co-ordinates to check and a reason to dig out the binoculars, is rather harder to put in the drawer.

What to call a star for your dad

Dads are often better at receiving a joke than a compliment, which gives you some range. Up to 60 characters, printed exactly as you type them.

• His name, done properly. "Robert William Ashworth", for a man who likes things to be correct.
• What you call him. "Dad", "Pops", "Papa", "Old Man" or "Tad". Your family's word is the right one.
• The catchphrase. "Who Left This Light On".
• The specialist subject. "Dad, Who Knows a Shortcut".
• The straightforward compliment. "The Best Dad in Lancashire". Being specific about the county makes it sound as though you checked.
• From the grandchildren. "Grandpa, Keeper of the Good Sweets", if he has moved on to the next generation.
• The first Father's Day. "Daddy to Noah". Our newborn page has more for brand-new families.

It needn't be for a dad in the strict sense either. Stepdads, grandads, uncles and the friend who always turned up all fit. See the name on the certificate before you order, and browse more naming ideas if you need them.

Why June needs a bit of planning

We would rather be straight about this. Father's Day falls very close to midsummer, when the nights are at their shortest. In Scotland and the north of England the sky barely gets dark at that time of year. Most of our stars are just beyond what the eye can see on its own and need binoculars and a good dark sky, so a June evening is not the ideal time to go looking.

That doesn't spoil the present. It just means the star-finding comes in two parts.

• On the day: give him the pack and show him the star's page on our star finder. It has a live sky map you can drag around, with the star ringed, whatever the weather or the time of day.
• Later on: look at the Altitude graph on the Star Area Co-ordinates Sheet, pick a month when the line is high, and agree a date. If you are in the north, August is a good point to start. How to find your star's best months.

There is something to be said for a Father's Day present that comes with a follow-up. "We'll go and find it in September" is a promise of an evening with him, which may be what he wanted all along. When the night comes, our step-by-step guide tells you what to bring.

When to order for 20 June

The posted gift pack is £13.99, with UK delivery included. It is usually sent within 24 hours by Royal Mail, but allow a few working days. Orders placed on a Friday evening or at the weekend go out on the next working day, so aim to have ordered by the weekend before. If you live apart, put his address as the delivery address at checkout and it will reach him in a full-colour gift envelope.

The print-at-home star is £8.99 and is ready the moment you've paid, right up to the Sunday itself. It has the same four documents: a Certificate of Registry, a Star Area Co-ordinates Sheet, a welcome letter and a star chart. Ordinary A4 paper is fine, and thicker card makes a better certificate. Our page on the last-minute star gift explains how to get it looking presentable in under an hour.

If your dad is the sort to put things carefully away in a drawer, frame the certificate first, so the decision has been made for him. And write the date of the follow-up outing in the card, so that it actually happens.

Something for dads who like numbers

If your father reads the instructions, he will get on well with the co-ordinates sheet. It lists the star's Right Ascension and Declination, its brightness in magnitude, its colour, its constellation and its catalogue number. From November 2026 each new star comes from the Hipparcos catalogue, the record compiled from a European Space Agency satellite, and its HIP number can be typed into planetarium software to bring up the same star. Each line of the sheet is explained here.

He may also ask whether it's all above board. Tell him the Intergalactic Star Database has been naming stars as gifts since 2004, that more than a quarter of a million stars have been registered with us, and that the name is recorded in our registry. Official star names are decided by the International Astronomical Union, which doesn't recognise names from any commercial registry. We say so plainly on our page about whether we are real.

If this year's Father's Day is one of remembering, our page on remembering someone with a star may be what you are looking for. For a birthday or just to say thanks, there is our page on a star to thank Mum or Dad.

Questions about Father's Day stars