How much does it cost to name a star? Real prices, explained

01The price list, level by level

Every star in the registry belongs to exactly one level. The table shows how many stars each level holds, the range of their magnitudes, and whether you can see them with the naked eye under a dark sky. The three most popular levels open straight into the quick choice; the others can be browsed in the 3D explorer.

02What makes one star cost more than another

Magnitude measures how bright a star looks from Earth: the smaller the number, the brighter the star. Magnitude 6 is roughly the faintest a human eye can see under a truly dark, rural sky. That is why, for the same profile, a star of magnitude 6 or brighter costs more: it is a star you can actually go outside and look for together.

Spectral type classifies stars by temperature. Type A stars (white, like Vega and Sirius) and type B stars (bluish, hotter still) are less common in the registry and have levels of their own. Giants (luminosity class III) and supergiants (class I) are ageing stars many times larger than the Sun; a star is only classed that way when the class is explicitly documented in reference publications, through the SIMBAD database.

Finally, a few entries have an individual dossier documented by cited publications, including a type O star, among the hottest known: they are the highest levels on the list.

• Magnitude 0 to 1: the brightest stars in the sky, such as Vega. They already carry proper names and are not in the registry, whose stars range from magnitude 4.01 to 9.97.
• Magnitude 4 to 5: visible from a small town or a back garden on a clear night.
• Magnitude 5 to 6: visible under a properly dark country sky, once your eyes have adjusted.
• Magnitude 6 to 8: you will need binoculars.
• Magnitude 8 to 10: good binoculars or a small telescope.

03Why a €9.90 star is not always visible

The “Catalogue star” level gathers real stars with no particular documented profile, at every brightness: of its 540 stars, 375 have a magnitude of 6 or brighter, while the rest need binoculars or even a telescope. With the quick choice at this price, brightness is not a criterion, so naked-eye visibility is not guaranteed.

If seeing the star matters — looking for it together on a summer night, showing it to a child — choose the “Naked-eye star” level instead, at €19.90 catalogue price: we pick the brightest available star of that level for your hemisphere. In the 3D explorer, every star also shows its magnitude before you choose it.

Whatever you pick, weather, moonlight, street lighting and the time of night decide what you can see. The finder guide on the second page and the certificate’s QR code at least show the star’s direction from wherever you are standing.

04What you actually pay for

Whatever the level, the price covers the same things:

• a numbered two-page A4 PDF certificate, to download as soon as you pay, with the chosen name, the date and your message;
• a real star referenced in the Hipparcos catalogue (HIP number), with its coordinates and astronomical data;
• a finder guide and a QR code that opens the star’s page in 3D, then helps you find it in the sky, with no app to install;
• the assignment of that star to a single order in the private Starry Memory registry;
• a choice of three colours at the same price: ivory, midnight or rose.

• The star certificate explained in detail →

05What the price does not include

You are not paying for ownership of the star or for a name astronomers will use: only the International Astronomical Union assigns star names, and it sells none. Starry Memory is not affiliated with it. Your chosen name lives in our registry and on your certificate, not in scientific catalogues.

Nor does the price include printing, a frame or postage: it is a digital product. That is also what keeps the entry price low, and the gift ready in minutes.

06How to compare star registry prices

Star naming offers vary widely in price, often for very similar content. Rather than the headline figure, compare what it covers:

• Is the full price shown before payment, including shipping and add-ons?
• Is it a file, a print or a boxed kit? Postage can cost as much as the certificate itself.
• Is the star identified by a checkable catalogue number (HIP, HD) and coordinates?
• Is its brightness stated, so you know whether you will be able to see it?
• Is the symbolic nature said plainly, with no promise of an “official” or “registered” name?
• Is there a subscription or an automatic renewal hidden in the small print?

• Buying a star certificate: what you get and how it works →