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Word: starscam (lookup in dictionary) (lookup stats)
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Astronomers think otherwise. Some refer to the mail-order operation as "Stargate" and "Starscam." Says Swarthmore College Astronomer Wulff Heintz, without even the trace of a twinkle: "You could call it a fraud." What irritates professional stargazers is that the self-styled registry, which began in 1979 and "sold" more than 30,000 stars last year, is invading turf that has long been their special preserve. By astronomical tradition, only a few dozen of the brightest stars, such as Sirius, Vega, Betelgeuse and Aldebaran, are called by proper names, many of which derive from early Arab astronomy. The remainder...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Science: Stellar Idea or Cosmic Scam? | 1/11/1982 | See Source »

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