Is the Intergalactic Star Database real?

Yes. The Intergalactic Star Database is a real star registry. It has been naming stars as gifts since 2004, and more than a quarter of a million stars have been registered with it. If you have been given one of our certificates, your star is a real star, and this is our official website.

What is real

• The star. Every star we register is a real star in the night sky. From November 2026 each new star is chosen from the Hipparcos catalogue and listed with its catalogue number, its exact position and its constellation.
• The registry. Each star is entered in the Intergalactic Star Database under the name chosen for it, with its own Database Number, and no star is given to two people in our registry.
• Being able to find it. Stars registered from November 2026 can be looked up on this website: enter the Database Number to see the star on a live sky map and print its documents.

What a star name means

Official names for stars are decided by the International Astronomical Union, the body that astronomers use. It doesn't recognise names from any commercial star registry, ours included, so the name you choose won't appear in scientific catalogues. It is recorded in the Intergalactic Star Database.

That is true of every star naming company, whatever they say. We would rather be clear about it: what you are giving is a real star, recorded under a name that matters to you, and a lovely way of saying something.

Can you actually see it?

Most of our stars sit just beyond what the eye can see on its own, even on a dark night. With a pair of ordinary binoculars and the Star Area Co-ordinates Sheet from your pack, you can find the right part of the sky and see it. Here is how.