Russian astronomers discovered trade in stars

The unexpected find caused a bit of a stir in the astronomical community. Not in space - on Earth, scientists have discovered a company with a very familiar name and a strange business: trading in the names of stars. Inthe blog of the famous astrophysicist and popularizer of science Sergei Popov, a discussion began: perhaps scientists will sue RosCosmos - the company’s website contains very real names of active astronomers.

Formally, RosCosmos does not promise any ownership rights, but only provides the opportunity to name a star, issues a certificate for a “new name” and registration in the “International Catalog of Celestial Bodies “Russian Star Catalog” - apparently created only to sell positions in this catalog .

Accommodation prices (with a discount) start from 1,170 rubles, a neutron star can be “named” for 89,900, a galaxy for 121,900, a supermassive black hole for 199,900, and an exoplanet for 888,000 rubles. These amounts apparently do not bother worthy buyers: the website presents an impressive gallery of Russian show business stars, athletes and politicians who are certificate holders.

Photo: roskocmoc.ru

In a telephone conversation with PublicPost, a RosCosmos representative explained: “The service is that the satellite takes pictures of celestial bodies and their coordinates every day. These celestial bodies have their own codes - and instead of this code you have the right to name them. We have an international catalog . Several of their own catalogs are published in Russia, but they have certain databases of coordinates that are agreed upon with us (...) There are, of course, certain scammers from the CIS countries on the Internet who confirm their coordinates with unknown reasons (. ...) The price depends on the magnitude. We registered the last fourth magnitude for the LDPR party - there are only two of them left, at least those that can be observed from Russia, from the northern hemisphere."

Among the “friends of the company” on the RosCosmos website are listed very real and respected enterprises of Roscosmos, institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, for example, the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute, and dozens of observatories from around the world. A random survey of the scientists mentioned in the list showed that they were not even aware of this friendship. Sergei Popov, a leading researcher at the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute, did not hide his indignation in a conversation with PublicPost: “Mimicry of the Russian Space Agency and gratitude to astronomical institutions that have been and continue to be consistent opponents of this kind of business look like a deception of potential clients, and are perceived by the astronomical community like a sophisticated mockery."

This opinion is also shared by the lawyer of the Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights Andrey Semenov. He believes that the activities of RosCosmos fall under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which defines fraud as “theft by deception or abuse of trust.” Fraud can also consist of passive deception - failure to report facts that could deter the buyer from the transaction. “Everything is presented in such a way,” Semenov explained, “as if this is an official organization operating within the framework of some international structure, there is no hint that the name from the point of view of astronomy will not mean anything. If you ask, they, of course, disown Roscosmos , and other things - but 98% of consumers will not ask: it’s written...

They declare membership in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and even provide a certificate. The certificate indicates the name of a certain legal entity that has nothing to do with RosCosmos - a certain LLC PA "Salyus". The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Nizhny Novgorod Region actually has such an LLC, but the area of ​​activity is indicated quite clearly: organization of recreation and entertainment, culture and sports. Therefore, any further reasoning is not very appropriate here: it is clear that people take money for nothing."

The company itself does not see anything special in the similarity of names. “Roscosmos does completely different things. Roscosmos has 135 companies that launch satellites... We are not Roscosmos,” explains a RosCosmos representative. We were unable to obtain an immediate comment from the press service of Roscosmos itself.

So is it possible to truly buy a star named after yourself or a couple of hectares of the lunar surface? The answer to this question is not so simple: existing legislation does not provide for such a tricky case. But difficult does not mean impossible.

Legislation on space and space objects appeared already in the first years of flights into low-Earth orbit. The key Outer Space Treaty came into force in 1967, and today more than a hundred states have acceded to it. In subsequent years, it was supplemented by several new conventions - including the registration of all launched objects and liability for damage that they may cause. Some specific space projects and aspects of space activities are governed by special interstate agreements, such as the ISS Agreement , signed by Russia, the United States, Canada, Japan and ESA member countries. It is also worth mentioning national legislation: in Russia, for example, the Federal Law “ On Space Activities ” has been in force since 1993.

None of these documents contain a formal prohibition on the acquisition of ownership of “six hundred square meters” somewhere on the Moon or on Mars. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty only states that “outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation.” Nothing is said about private ownership, but this does not prevent the creators of the famous Lunar Embassy and their many colleagues around the world from making money not even out of thin air, but literally from the vacuum of space. Lunar Embassy offers “vacant” plots on the Moon and Mars for sale, and tens of thousands of people from different countries (including Russia) stroke their pride by purchasing certificates of ownership - in fact, meaningless examples of typographic skill.

The absence of a direct ban on the right of property de jure does not mean the emergence of this right de facto. First, it must be stipulated by civil law, which requires corresponding changes in national legislation. However, the legislation of all countries party to the Outer Space Treaty cannot provide for such norms, because this would contradict the prohibition of national appropriation of celestial bodies prescribed in it.

RosCosmos operates differently - this company sells not the surface, but the names of stars and distant exoplanets. But in this area there are generally accepted rules and regulations. Only one organization in the world deals with issues of naming celestial bodies - the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a completely non-profit association.

The Union has more than once expressed its attitude to this issue: such “names” do not have any formal or official meaning. Some bright stars retain their ancient traditional names, while others are designated by a catalog number and position in the sky. The same rules apply to star clusters and galaxies. “Like true love and other wonderful things in our lives, the beauty of the night sky is not for sale,” the IAU message sums up. “It can be enjoyed by everyone and is completely free.”