Can I pay to have a star named? How do I do it? Is it "official"?

First of all, you should understand that companies that "sell" star names
do so unofficially, and that the name is not recognized by any of the
other star-naming companies, much less than by the scientific
astronomical community. Thus, any given star may go by many names, as
many names as there are naming companies, plus one for the star's
"real" name. The real name is the designation assigned by the
International Astronomical Union (IAU). These names are either
historical, or positional. None are for sale. You can read the IAU's
statement on the naming of stars at http://intastun.org/starnames.html

I don't tell you this to discourage you from having a star named for
someone; it could be a very touching symbolic gesture. However, I
would be remiss if I told you how to do it without explaining first
that you are getting just that: a symbolic gesture.

If you do want to proceed with the star naming, the leading company
is the "International Star Registry". Their web address is:
http://www.starregistry.co.uk

Thanks for your question!

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