Our Story

LOOPOOL (aka Jean-Paul Garnier) is a sound artist based in Los Angeles and has been active since 1998.  While his focus is on experimental music, astronomy is a huge inspiration and he feels that the destiny of human beings lies in space.  LOOPOOL's picture was flown on the Space Shuttle Mission STS-134 as part of the Face in Space public outreach program and he has contributed to the Space Rocks program, both run by NASA.  LOOPOOL is also a member of the National Space Society and a supporter of the Mars Society.

The Impact

Naming a Star is completely a subject of vanity and holds no consequence in the scientific community. The company that does this (starregistry.com) is not recognized by the International Astronomical Union which is in charge of naming astronomical objects.  The reason for doing this project is to raise awareness about astronomy.  It is anticipated that the goal will not be met and that is great because if it is not then the money will be donated to SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence).

What We Need & What You Get

The deluxe package for naming a Star after LOOPOOL would cost about $550 (although it would only be lip service).  The main reason for this is to either have a Star falsely named after LOOPOOL or more reasonably to raise money for the SETI program.  Since there are Billions of Stars it is highly likely that we are not alone in the Universe, we should try and find our fellow beings of intelligence and communicate with them!  Everyone that donates will receive LOOPOOL merchandise as a reward!

Other Ways You Can Help

More important than this fundraiser you can get involved with SETI through a program released to the public called seti@home.  With this program you can donate your computer's unused processing power to sift through radio signals detected by the SETI program and possibly find an alien signal!  Hook up to it here: http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/