|
I don't really see a problem with this. The names being sold are for an officially recognised catalogue. There is a legitimate astronomical institution overseeing it. The funds are not kept by a profit motivated private individual.
This is no different to people sponsoring a tiger/orang utan/whatever overseas.
If people want to discover and name an astronomical object for themselves and are willing to put the time and money into it, it's not difficult to do.
But for those who want to sponsor astronomy the quick and easy way, this seems a good option.
|