If you've ever looked up at the night sky and wondered whether you could put your name — or someone else's — on one of those points of light, the answer is yes. Here's exactly how it works, what you're actually getting, and what to expect from start to finish. If you're ready to get started, NamedLight's packages are here.
Step 1: Choose Your Package
The first decision is which tier of star you want to name. Stars vary significantly in brightness, and the packages reflect both that difference and what's included in the box.
Star brightness is measured on the astronomical magnitude scale — a counterintuitive system where lower numbers mean brighter stars. NamedLight's three tiers map directly onto this scale:
- Bright ($29.99) — Stars with a magnitude between 7.0 and 8.0. Just below naked-eye visibility. Includes a printed certificate, digital PDF emailed instantly, and a permanent registry page.
- Brilliant ($49.99) — Stars with a magnitude between 5.0 and 7.0, at or near the threshold of what the naked eye can see on a clear night. Includes everything in Bright, plus a premium keepsake certificate folder.
- Supernova ($69.99) — Stars with a magnitude of 5.0 or brighter — the most luminous unnamed stars in the catalog, assigned starting from the brightest available. Includes everything in Brilliant, plus a second certificate framed and ready to hang.
Step 2: Pick a Constellation
Once you've chosen a tier, you can request a specific constellation. NamedLight offers 30 curated constellations to choose from — familiar ones like Orion, Leo, Cassiopeia, and Lyra, as well as lesser-known but equally rich options like Aquila, Cepheus, and Corona Borealis.
If the person you're naming a star for has a favorite constellation, a birth sign, or a connection to a particular part of the sky, this is where that detail makes the gift more personal. You can also choose a hemisphere preference — northern sky, southern sky, or equatorial — if location matters more than a specific constellation.
Step 3: Enter the Name and a Dedication
This is the part that makes the registration personal. Enter the name you want the star to carry — a person's full name, a nickname, a meaningful phrase. You can also include a short dedication that will appear on the certificate and registry page alongside the star's details.
Step 4: Your Star Is Assigned
As soon as your order is placed, a real catalogued star is selected from the HYG Stellar Database and permanently set aside in your name. The HYG database contains roughly 119,000 real stars with verified coordinates, measured brightness, and calculated distances — and every star assigned through NamedLight is removed from the available pool permanently. The same star is never assigned twice.
Your permanent registry page goes live at this point, showing the star's name, coordinates, constellation, distance from Earth, and a real telescopic photograph of the region of sky where it lives — pulled from the Digitized Sky Survey, a professional photographic archive of the entire sky.
Step 5: Your Certificate Is Printed and Mailed
Certificates are printed and packaged individually after each order — not pre-produced in bulk. Once yours ships, you'll receive tracking information so you know exactly when to expect it. Physical certificates typically arrive in one week. If you're ordering as a gift for a specific date, the PDF means you'll always have something to present on time even if the printed certificate is still in transit.
One Thing Worth Knowing Upfront
Star naming is a symbolic and commemorative gift. The names registered through NamedLight — and through any commercial star registry — are not recognized by the International Astronomical Union, the official body responsible for astronomical naming. Scientists won't refer to your star by its registered name.
What you're getting is a real star, with real data, permanently recorded in a private registry under the name you've chosen. The gesture is symbolic. The star and the science behind it are not. We think that's worth being clear about — and we think it's still a genuinely meaningful thing to give someone.
How Long Does It Take
The digital side — your registry page and PDF certificate — is ready immediately after checkout. Physical certificates typically arrive in one week. If you're ordering as a gift for a specific date, the PDF means you'll always have something to present on time even if the printed certificate is still in transit.