Frequently Asked Questions

Claiming Your Star connects you to the world’s first completely accurate, 3D atlas of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is a high quality, highly immersive educational experience that is absolutely free. By Claiming Your Star, you are giving a star – that actually exists in the night sky – a personalized name, and attaching a special message and photo that are significant to you. This is the only place where you and your friends can view your star in a multi-million dollar 3D galaxy for free.

While this is a new, high tech experience, “claiming” a star is an age-old activity. For centuries, people have been fascinated by the objects in the night sky. For some, certain celestial objects hold special meaning. Lovers may point to “their” star. Mothers include stars in their children’s bedtime stories. And people imagine loved ones becoming stars in the heavens after they leave the earth’s confines.

Yes, you can give your star any name you like. Name it for a loved one, for someone whose life you wish to commemorate, or as a special gift. Your star’s name, plus your message and photo, will become visible as soon as they are approved.

Yes, you can place a picture on the face of your star. Your photo, message and star’s name will become visible as soon as they are approved. After that, you’ll be able to see the picture whenever you log in.

Yes, you always modify the name, message, and picture on your star.

To edit information on your star

1. Go to our login page at out website http://www.claimyourstar.com/home.php
2. Login using the email and password you used when you created your account
3. Click on "Mt Stars" to view the stars you have claimed.
4. Click on the particular star you would like to edit.
5. Click on "Choose File" to select a picture from your local harddrive.
6. Click on "Upload" to upload the picture to the face of your star.
7. Finally, verify all details and click on "Update My Star" to update your changes.

Your selected name, message and picture have to go through our internal approval process before they are visible to other users of our website and client.

Start by downloading the software from this website. You’ll soon be immersed in an authentic, 3D atlas as accurate as the databases sanctioned by the International Astronomical Union. You have a far better view of your star than you’d see through a telescope. You’ll actually be able to travel to it, and even explore the stars and any planets surrounding it. You can travel the universe by clicking on Navigate. Log in and our tutorial will get you started.

Viewing your star on the Internet is simple.

• Visit www.claimyourstar.com
• Log in using your user name and password
• Select 'My Stars'
• Click of any of your claimed stars, to view your personalized information

To view your star from the 3D atlas

• Launch the software from the Start menu by clicking on the "Claim Your Star" application
• Log in using your email and password
• Click on the "My Stars" button in the left corner of the top bar. This will bring up a window that displays your claimed stars.
• Click on any one of them. An information window on the right side will pop up to show you the details of your star.

Click on this "Auto Navigate" to travel to your star and see your personalized message and picture.

Nothing! Viewing your star is always free at www.claimyourstar.com, which is unique to this website.  Add even more excitement to your gift by purchasing a Star Kit to go with your star. Star Kit prices range from $9.99 to $129.99.

Yes. After your personalization is approved, your star name, message and picture are visible to others who use the Claim Your Star© software. To keep your information private, simply send us an email and we will remove it from the publicly visible database.

If you download our 3D Atlas of the Milky Way Galaxy then yes!

Although you can Claim Your Star© on the web, you can’t travel to your star in your own spacecraft or invite your friends to see your star. Our 3D space atlas is very sophisticated software that allows you to see your star’s position and geometry. You’ll also be able to see and experience all objects in our solar system, and all known stars in the Milky Way galaxy. You will also be able to invite your friends and chat. Additionally, you’ll be able to see stars claimed by your friends and other users. Downloading the software will give you many fabulous experiences as you tour the Milky Way galaxy.

Our software currently works with Windows XP or Windows 7. Our download page has a more detailed description of requirements.

Yes, all stars that are claimed on the web are visible using our software.

Yes, all stars that are claimed from the client software will be visible and accessile from the web-site.

Yes, you can see stars claimed by other users. Just click on the Star Browser button on the right-hand corner in the client software and search by the name given to the star or by the name of the owner who claimed it.

Yes, there is an online tutorial and a video.

Traveling to star is as easy as pointing and clicking.

1. Select the star browser from the right hand side corner
2. Search for your star by name or owner
3. Click on your star to select it
4. Click on the 'Face Star' button to make your ship face the star
5. Click on 'Navigate' to travel to the star in your ship and watch the universe move past you

We have two types: electronic and traditional. Electronic Star Kits are delivered via email; traditional kits will be packaged and shipped to your specified address.

An electronic Star Kit is delivered to your specified email address within 24 hours. You will receive your star certificate and high resolution 8 x 10 picture that can be printed from home.

Yes, you will need Adode Acrobat PDF reader to view your electronic kit. You can download and install the reader for Free from here.

While we are in our initial phases, you have unlimited access to your star via the Internet. As our start-up phase comes to an end, we will send you an email notifying you of any policy changes.

We make every attempt to process and ship your Star Kits ship within two business days, but at times, building the order may take between 5-7 business days. The delivery time will depend on your shipping method. We currently have three shipping methods:

1. Standard - Shipped by USPS ground, bulk rate
2. Express - Shipped by USPS priority
3. Second Day - Shipped for arrival within two business days anywhere in the continental U.S.

Shipping times are noted for orders from the time they are shipped.

Yes. We allow this so that you can order Star Kits for friends and loved ones. Just enter the catalog number of the star for which you are placing the order.

You may return traditional Star Kits within 14 days of arrival and we will refund your entire order amount (less shipping costs). Unfortunately, we cannot offer refunds on electronic kits because we have no control over the document files once they have been sent to your email address.

Each star has a unique catalog number. The American Astronomical Society uses different catalogs to identify stars. The HIPPACROS (HIP) catalog, a high-precision catalog of more than 100,000 stars, was published in 1997. Other catalogs include the lower precision Tycho catalog of more than a million stars, also published in 1997, and the enhanced Tycho-2 catalog of 2.5 million stars published in 2000.

We currently use the star numbers from the HIPPACROS catalog, however we will shortly be introducing Tycho numbers. Both the original HIP number and the name you have given your star will be seen by all entering and exploring the universe.

HIPPACROS (an acronym for High Precision Parallax Collecting Satellite) was a scientific mission launched by the European Space Agency in 1989, and operated between 1989 and 1993. It was a space experiment devoted to precision astrometry: the accurate measurement of the positions of objects in the sky. This data permits the accurate determination of proper motions and parallaxes of stars, allowing a determination of their distance and tangential velocity. When combined with radial velocity measurements from spectroscopy, this fixes all six quantities needed to determine the star’s motion.

No. Just as the United States added the American flag to our moon, you are adding your name to the star’s scientific name and/or common name recognized and used by scientists, space agencies and authorities worldwide. This is the only place online where you can search for a star or planet by the official names assigned by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), an international scientific organization. We also use these IAU names, and they can be searched in our database. The unique thing about us is that our stars can be searched by their IAU name and your name.  All of this is online and available to you or anyone else wishing to travel through space and explore your star.

Different stars are visible at times in the sky based on your location. To find the exact location of your star in the night sky, enter the star’s coordinates into a scientific telescope. If you simply want to see your star online, you can click on the star button in our software, then click “Navigate” to travel to the star.

You can reach customer support at 1-888-WOO-SYTO

You can send an email to support@sytosoft.com for all questions and comments
Also, in addition to the FAQ, you will find our video tutorial and a software tutorial on this site.