Look up at the night sky. Almost none of the stars you see have names. Our mission is to allow people like you to choose meaningful names for those stars, in the coolest way possible...

As space missions become increasingly ambitious and blossom into reality, it becomes ever more vital for the public to pay attention. Why? Because when these historic events do eventually take place, it is crucial that all people benefit from our collective inheritance of the universe, not just a select few with the means and technological access.

The vision of the Astro Ledger Institute is to use creativity and collaboration to bring these abstract issues back down to earth. The first step in this process is our project of community-driven star names, which will likely result in a fun de facto catalog of star names (particularly considering the vacuum of secure and democratic star-naming alternatives). By allowing regular netizens to name actual stars and new planets, we are instilling an appreciation for astronomy in the broader public - and nurturing an awareness of our collective stake in the Solar System.

THE ASTRO LEDGER INSTITUTE INSPIRED BY THE INSTITUTE OF HIGHER AWESOME
By distributing naming rights via open auctions we expect that the income earned from sales will give us the opportunity to use the revenue in creative ways. Inspired by the Institute of Higher Awesome, we will accept grant applications from the public and disburse profits among projects that advance our vision. We’ll probably fund cool space-themed educational outreach projects. But if we get millions of dollars you’d better believe we’ll put out an RFQ for a ROBOT SUBMARINE space probe mission scouring the oceans of Jupiter’s moon Europa for SHARK ALIENS!