What Happens to Your Memorial Page If We Ever Close
An honest account of “forever”: our commitment (no shutdown is planned — it carries on), what does not depend on us at all, and the three safeguards worth doing today.
“Forever” is marketing language at most memorial services. Our answer has two layers. First, a commitment: this is a memorial site — no shutdown is planned, and none is intended; the way we run it is for it to carry on. Memorial pages have no expiry date, no subscription, no renewal. Second, insurance: even if the unexpected happens, most of what you buy does not depend on us — the star is in a public catalog, its identifier points to the same star in any sky app, and the certificate PDF is your own file the moment you download it. Both layers, written plainly — that is an honest answer to “forever.”
First, the honest headline: “forever” gets a two-layer answer
Ask any memorial service “will this last forever?” and you will usually get a marketing word back. We won’t give you a word — we’ll give you two layers: a commitment (no shutdown is planned — it carries on) and insurance (the parts that stay yours with or without us). This page lays out both.
The commitment is the part we can keep; the insurance is the part that needs nobody to keep anything. No service can turn “forever” into a law of physics — servers fail and domains expire, the shared situation of every online service. So we put our words where they can be honored: in our intent and succession, and in the files you hold in your hand. That is also the frame to bring to any memorial service: not “are you forever?” but “what exactly do you promise, and what do I take with me?”
What does not depend on us at all
- The star itself — It comes from the HYG catalog (merged from Hipparcos, Gliese, Yale and other public survey data), and its identifier (HIP / Gaia) is astronomy’s common language. If astarnamed.com vanished tomorrow, “HIP 114249” would still point to the same real star in any catalog and any sky app.
- The zenith computation — The algorithm is standard astronomy and the data is a public catalog: the same moment and place always yield the same star. Anyone can independently re-derive it without our servers — that is what “same inputs, same star” really means.
- The certificate PDF — Once downloaded, the certificate is your file: offline, with no access expiry and no login required — and no one can take it back ten years from now.
- The star charts — The phone wallpaper, desktop wallpaper and 300 DPI print-ready chart (A4/A3) are all downloadable; printed and framed, paper outlives any server.
What does need us running
- The memorial page & the 3D sky — The page that returns you to the sky of that night, the candles and flowers, your private notes — they live on our servers and are reachable only while the service runs.
- No subscription, no expiry — A memorial star is a one-time purchase: no auto-renewal, no “the page lapsed because a payment failed.” The only deadline anywhere is the 7-day hold on an unpaid order’s star slot — a paid memorial page has no expiry date.
- Our commitment: it is run to carry on — This is a memorial site — no shutdown is planned, no exit timeline, and none intended; the way it is run is for it to carry on, into hands that will keep it standing. That is our promise to you, and to every name written on a star here.
Three safeguards you can do today
- Save the certificate in two places — One copy locally, one in cloud storage or emailed to yourself — two places are almost impossible to lose at once.
- Print one 300 DPI chart — Worth framing; what hangs on a wall needs no account to view.
- Write down the star record — The HIP / Gaia identifier plus J2000 coordinates — one line, written anywhere. With it, the star is findable forever.
About your data
- Retention — Order and payment records are kept as tax and legal requirements demand (typically at least 5 years); other personal data is kept while the service relationship exists.
- Your rights — You can ask to access, correct or delete your personal data at any time, and request account deletion — just email [email protected].
- Your private notes — Notes in your memorial space are visible only to you by default; what you write there belongs to you.
The memorial never lived on the servers anyway
This whole page is about backups, exports and servers — but the memorial never really lived in a data center. It lives in the moment you look up, in the moment you say the name. The star was there for billions of years before you two met, and it will be there long after — longer than any website. Anyone selling memorials should admit that before their customers do: the memorial belongs to you, not to us. If you are reading this in the middle of a loss, take care of yourself first — and if you or someone you love is in acute grief, do not hesitate to reach out for professional support.
FAQ
Does a memorial page expire?
A delivered memorial page has no expiry date, no subscription, no renewal. The only deadline is on unpaid orders: a star slot is held for 7 days and released automatically if payment is not completed — to keep it, simply finish the payment in time.
Will you ever shut this site down?
No shutdown is planned, and none is intended — this is a memorial site, and the way we run it is for it to carry on. Memorial pages have no expiry date, no subscription, no renewal. We still tell you to download your certificate and the 300 DPI chart — not because we are imagining an ending, but because keeping your own copy in your own hands is how this site does things, and for the worst case you are covered either way.
Can I find the star somewhere other than your site?
Yes. With the HIP / Gaia identifier or the J2000 coordinates from the star record, any sky app — Stellarium, SkySafari — will locate the same real star, with no involvement from us. That is also the most concrete proof that the star is real.
如果有一天我们关站,纪念页会怎样?
一份关于「永久」的诚实说明:我们的承诺(没有关闭计划,经营方式就是一直传承下去)、哪些东西根本不依赖我们、以及今天就该做的三件保险。
「永久」这个词,大多数纪念服务拿来当营销词。我们的回答分两层。第一层是承诺:这是一座纪念站——没有关闭计划,也没有这个打算,我们的经营方式就是让它一直传承下去;纪念页没有到期日,没有订阅,没有续费。第二层是保险:即使意外发生,你的购买里有一大半根本不依赖我们——那颗星在公开星表里,恒星编号在任何星图软件里都指向同一颗星,证书 PDF 下载后就是你自己的文件。两层都写清楚,才是对「永久」这个问题诚实的回答。
先说结论:「永久」这个问题,我们分两层回答
去问任何一家纪念服务「这能永久保留吗」,你通常会得到一个营销词。我们不打算给你一个词——我们给你两层答案:一层是承诺(没有关闭计划,经营方式就是让它一直传承下去),一层是保险(哪些东西即使没有我们,也永远属于你)。这一篇把两层都写全。
承诺是说话算话的部分,保险是不需要谁说话算话的部分。没有一家服务能让「永久」变成物理定律——服务器会坏、域名会过期,这是所有在线服务的共同处境;所以我们更愿意把话说在能兑现的地方:我们的意志与传承,加上你握在手里的文件。这也是你去问任何一家纪念服务时该用的框架:不是「你们永久吗」,而是「你们的承诺是什么、我该带走什么」。
哪些东西根本不依赖我们
- 那颗星本身 — 它来自 HYG 星表(合并 Hipparcos、Gliese、Yale 等公开巡天数据),恒星编号(HIP / Gaia)是天文学界的通用语言。即使 astarnamed.com 明天消失,「HIP 114249」在任何星表、任何星图软件里仍指向同一颗真实恒星。
- 天顶的计算 — 算法是标准天文计算,数据是公开星表:同样的时刻与地点,永远得到同一颗星。这个结果不经过我们也可以被任何人独立复核——这正是「同样输入、同一颗星」的含义。
- 证书 PDF — 下载到你设备上的证书是你的文件:离线保存、没有访问期限、不需要登录,哪怕十年后也没有人能把它收回去。
- 星图(壁纸与打印版) — 手机壁纸、桌面壁纸、以及 300 DPI 打印级星图(A4/A3)都可以下载留存;打印出来放进相框,纸比任何服务器都长寿。
哪些东西需要我们一直开着
- 纪念页与 3D 星空 — 那个能回到告别之夜天空的页面、蜡烛与鲜花、你的私密手记——它们住在我们的服务器上,只有服务在运行才能访问。
- 没有订阅、没有到期日 — 纪念星是一次性付费,没有自动续费,不存在「忘了续费页面就没了」。唯一有期限的是未支付订单的星位保留期(7 天,逾期自动释放)——付过款的纪念页没有到期日。
- 我们的承诺:让它一直传承下去 — 这是一座纪念站——没有关闭计划,没有退出时间表,也没有这个打算;我们的经营方式,就是让它一直传承下去,交到愿意继续守护它、把纪念守下去的人手里。这是我们对你、也是对写在星上的每个名字的承诺。
今天就能做的三件保险
- 证书存两个地方 — 本地存一份,再加一份云盘或发给自己的邮箱——两处存放,几乎不可能同时丢。
- 打印一张 300 DPI 星图 — 值得放进相框;挂在墙上的东西不需要任何账号就能看。
- 记下恒星档案一行字 — HIP / Gaia 编号 + J2000 坐标,一行字,记在任何地方——有了它,这颗星永远找得回来。
关于你的数据
- 保留期限 — 订单与支付记录按税务与法律要求保留(通常不少于 5 年);其他个人信息在服务关系存续期间保留。
- 你的权利 — 你可以随时要求访问、更正或删除你的个人信息,也可以申请注销账号——写信到 [email protected] 即可。
- 私密手记 — 纪念空间里的手记默认只有你自己可见;写在那里的东西属于你。
纪念的意义不在服务器里
这篇文章通篇在讲备份、导出和服务器——但纪念真正的载体不在机房里:在你抬头的那一下,在你念出名字的那一声。那颗星在你们相遇之前的亿万年就已经在那里,而它还会在那里很久很久——比任何网站都久。做纪念服务的人,应该比客户更早承认这一点:纪念属于你们,不属于我们。如果你正因失去而读到这里,请先照顾好自己;如果你或你身边的人正处在剧烈哀伤中,也不要犹豫向专业支持求助。
FAQ
纪念页会过期吗?
已交付的纪念页没有到期日,也没有订阅或续费。唯一有期限的是未支付订单的星位保留:订单生成后 7 天内未完成支付,星位会自动释放(想保住它,按时完成支付即可)。
你们会不会有一天关掉这个站?
没有关闭计划,也没有这个打算——这是一座纪念站,我们的经营方式就是让它一直传承下去。纪念页没有到期日、没有订阅、没有续费。之所以我们仍然建议你下载证书与 300 DPI 星图,不是因为我们在设想终点,而是因为让你手里永远握着自己的纪念,是这座站做事的方式——而且对最坏的情况,这样也永远有备无患。
我可以在别的地方找到这颗星吗?
可以。用恒星档案里的 HIP / Gaia 编号或 J2000 坐标,在 Stellarium、SkySafari 等任何星图软件里都能定位到同一颗真实恒星,完全不经过我们——这也是「星是真的」最实在的证明。