On Mon, 12 Feb 1996, Arthur Anderson wrote:

>
> While getting into the spirit of Valentines Day, I got rather excited
> when I heard that I could name a star after my girlfriend! After some
> searching on the topic, and several helpful replies from the astronomy
> community, I found that this is apparently too good to be true.
>
My dear Arthur,

I am living proof (as are at least hundreds of others) that you can reach
that celestial goal.  About ten years ago my father surprised this
budding astrophysicist (I stress "budding" -- I never bloomed) with a
gift of his own star.  For fifty dollars, he had the name "Reinhard Alpha
Delta" placed on a star somewhere within the constellation Monoceros,
courtesy of the International Star Registry in Switzerland.  Whether or
not the name's now on the books, for vanity's sake it was worth every
penny.  The gorgeous certificate of naming was framable.

Andrew Reinhard
University of Missouri - Columbia