What happens when you name a star?

From the moment you type a name to the night you find the star, here is exactly what happens when you name a star with the Intergalactic Star Database.

1. You choose the name

Order the gift pack on Amazon and type the name for the star. Most people choose a person's name, but it can be a couple, a pet, a date or a phrase. We print it exactly as you type it. Try a name on the certificate before you order.

2. We choose a real star

Every new star is chosen from the Hipparcos catalogue, the star catalogue made by the European Space Agency's Hipparcos satellite. Each one is a real star with a catalogue number, a precise position and a constellation, and it has never been named in our registry before.

3. We register it

The star is recorded in the Intergalactic Star Database under your name, with its own Database Number: ISD followed by seven digits. That number is how you find your star again, on this website, for good.

4. The pack is printed and posted

Your documents are printed for your star and posted in a full-colour gift envelope, usually within 24 hours:

• the Certificate of Registry,
• the Star Area Co-ordinates Sheet, with its position, a chart of its sky and when it is highest,
• a welcome letter, and
• a fold-out map of the night sky.

5. You find it, online and in the sky

Enter the Database Number on our star finder to see the star on a live sky map, see whether it is up tonight and which way to look, send it as a gift link, and print the certificate and sheet again whenever you need them. Then, on a clear night, take a pair of binoculars outside. Here is how to find it.