Methodology and sources

The documents combine real astronomical data with calculations made by the service. This page explains the sources, reproducible rules and limits in plain language.

01

Where star data comes from

Catalogue identifiers, coordinates and available physical properties come from SIMBAD, the public astronomical database of the Strasbourg astronomical data centre, under ODbL 1.0.

The imported scientific record is frozen when documents are issued, together with provenance and retrieval information, so later source changes do not rewrite an order’s evidence.

02

When a distance is published

Distance is derived from parallax and becomes unreliable when the measurement is too uncertain.

It is shown only when parallax is positive and the error-to-parallax ratio is below 0.2. Otherwise the document says that the star’s distance is not known with sufficient reliability.

03

Times and observation tables

Indicative rise, culmination and set times use the star coordinates, selected location and classical celestial-sphere calculations.

Real horizons, refraction, buildings, weather and haze can change what an observer experiences, so these times are guidance rather than a guarantee.

Calculations use universal time and convert to the location’s time zone at the end, including daylight-saving rules for the relevant date.

04

The image connected to a date

An eligible archive image may be assigned through a fixed, repeatable rule and frozen at issue. Sources and licences are checked before commercial use.

Credit, provenance and licence accompany an archive image. It is never presented as a photograph taken on the dedication date.

When no archive image is eligible, an original graphic derived from the date is clearly identified as artwork rather than a scientific photograph.

05

What the documents do not claim

The dedication is symbolic and commemorative. Its chosen name exists only in the A Star For You Private Registry, does not transfer ownership and does not change the star’s scientific designation.

Observation information is indicative; naked-eye visibility cannot be guaranteed for a specific time or place.

The documents describe a dedication and its connected star. They are not a scientific publication or a legal title.