by 
mikol
ANSWERS: 4
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If you discover the star you can name it what you like
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Officially, only the very brightest stars have names (which are quite ancient). All others have catalog numbers. Non-stellar objects, however, do, and there is a procedure for naming them: You have to petition the International Astronomical Union. They are the ONLY organization authorized to issue offical names for astronomical objects. While they generally accept the discoverer's recommendation, this is not automatic. See http://www.iau.org/public_press/themes/naming/ for more information.
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There's a service that's advertised a lot that supposedly names a star after a person, but don't believe it. They claim the name "is recorded in book form in the U.S. Copyright office", which is just marketing hype meaning, "we'll write it in a document somewhere and no one will ever see it again, including astronomers." So, for your $50 or so, all you get is a crappy little book on astronomy, a certificate signifying nothing, and a nice hole in your wallet where $50 used to be.
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Well if The Simpsons taught me right, and they always have, if you manage to find an undiscovered star, it's yours for the naming.
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