Can I buy land on the Moon?
No one has the right to own land on the Moon. The UK and most other countries have signed up to the United Nations Outer Space Treaty (link opens in a new window) and this forbids nations from claiming ownership of any other planet or moon.
Any sellers that claim otherwise are committing fraud because a business cannot own any part of the lunar surface.
The United Nations Outer Space Treaty states: "Neither the surface nor the subsurface of the moon, nor any part thereof or natural resources in place, shall become property of any State, international intergovernmental or non-governmental organization, national organization or non-governmental entity or of any natural person."
A certificate of ownership is nothing more than a certificate. It does not mean you own land on the Moon.
Can I name a star?
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is the official body responsible for naming all stars and other astronomical bodies.
Some commercial companies offer the chance to name a star for a fee but this does not have any official or formal validity. The names are not recognised by any professional astronomical organisation and are not listed in the IAU catalogue.
There are thousands of millions of stars, so the IAU uses numbers rather than names to distinguish between them. Sometimes a star is named after the astronomer who discovered it but this is only ever an unofficial name.
Often companies start their own star catalogues and certificates. This means someone else could also name the same star through a different company. Sadly, it will never be 'your' star unless you become an astronomer and find it the hard way!
To find out more about how stars, moons and planets are named and why star names are not for sale, visit the International Astronomical Union (link opens in a new window) website.
