A star for a grandparent

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

Grandparents already have a house full of school photographs and a strong view on what they don't need. A star named by the grandchildren is one more thing for the mantelpiece, but it is also an excuse for a very late night with the youngest member of the family.

Names from the grandchildren

This is a present in which the people giving it matter nearly as much as the person getting it, so the name can say who it came from. You have up to 60 characters, and we print them exactly as you type them.

• Their grandparent name. "Nana", "Grandpa Joe", "Oma", "Bampi", "Nain", "Granny Sue". Whatever the family says, in the family's spelling.
• From all of you. "Grandad, Love from All Eight of Us".
• The famous skill. "Nana's Roast Potatoes" or "Grandad, Fixer of All Things".
• A big birthday. "Grandma Jean at 80", "Ninety and Still in Charge".
• The couple. "Nan and Grandad", or both full names for a golden wedding. Our page on weddings and anniversaries has more on that.
• A great-grandparent. "Great-Nana Doris, from Baby Alfie" is a nice thing to have in writing.

Children can take charge of this part. Ask what they would call the star, write down what they say, and try it on the certificate together. For more options, see what to call your star.

A present that works without the internet

Not every grandparent wants a present they need a password for, and this one doesn't require any. The posted gift pack (£13.99, UK delivery included) is entirely on paper: a Certificate of Registry to frame, a Star Area Co-ordinates Sheet, a welcome letter and a fold-out star chart of the night sky, in a full-colour gift envelope. Royal Mail usually has it on its way within 24 hours. Give their address as the delivery address at checkout if you would like it sent straight to them.

For those who do enjoy a tablet, or for a family member who can set it up, every star registered from November 2026 has its own page on this website. Enter the Database Number on our star finder to see the star on a live sky map, with the star ringed. If getting outside isn't easy, that map can be dragged around from an armchair, which is a good way to show someone exactly where their star is. Relatives living far away can open the same page, and print their own copy of the certificate.

A print-at-home star at £8.99 is ready as soon as you've paid, if you would rather print it yourself on A4 paper or card and take it round in person. It can be printed at A4 for a larger, easier-to-read certificate, and as often as you like.

A night out with the grandchildren

Most of our stars are just beyond what the eye can see on its own, so this is a job for binoculars. Grandparents may well have a pair in a cupboard from birdwatching or the races. It is a good activity to share across the generations, because the older one has the patience and the younger one has the eyesight.

• Choose the right time of year. The Altitude graph on the co-ordinates sheet shows how high the star is at 10pm through the year. Winter's early, dark evenings are the easiest for children before bedtime.
• Find the constellation first. Spread out the fold-out chart on the kitchen table and work out which part of the sky you need. The brighter stars that make the constellation's shape are visible by eye.
• Go somewhere dark. Back gardens away from street lights will do. Give your eyes 15 to 20 minutes to adjust, use a red torch if you have one, and take a chair.
• Hand over the binoculars. Hold up the Chart View from the sheet and match its pattern to the sky. Our guide to finding a star covers each step.

If it stays cloudy, nothing is lost. Pick another month, and the outing has given you something to look forward to.

Occasions, and what to say

A star works for big birthdays, Christmas, a golden or diamond wedding, or as a thank-you for years of school runs. A family with several grandparents can order up to ten stars at once on this website, each with its own name and Database Number, registered side by side in the same small patch of sky. Stars that close together are too faint to see by eye, and a telescope will show them, so if you want one to find with binoculars, order it singly.

If they ask whether it is genuine, you can tell them that every star we register is a real one, that from November 2026 each new star comes from the Hipparcos catalogue, and that we have been naming stars as gifts since 2004. Tell them too that the name is recorded in the Intergalactic Star Database and not by astronomers: official star names are decided by the International Astronomical Union, which doesn't recognise names from any commercial registry. It is a keepsake, and in our view none the worse for that.

And if the grandparent is no longer with you, our page on remembering someone with a star may help.

Questions about giving a grandparent a star