On my commute to work this morning I was amused, if not a little bemused, by the story of a Spanish woman who recently claimed legal rights to the sun.

Yes, you did read that correctly: Angeles Duran, 49-year-old Latina-turned-astronomy-entrepreneur, has been registered as the legal owner of the blazing light-source around which the Earth turns.

Following the claim by American Richard Garriott (aka Lord British) to own the moon, Senorita Duran seized the equally peculiar opportunity of being the first individual to have received a title deed from lawyers in the region of Galicia, which states her legal right to the sun.

The document notes that she is the ‘owner of the sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the centre of the solar system, at an average distance from the Earth of about 149,600,000 km’.

As if the mere title of owner to the sun was not enough, Senorita Duran has seen the light in how to make revenue from her new acquisition and plans to charge taxes for use of the sun’s rays.

The levy, which is sure to create anything but warm feelings among taxpayers, will allegedly be charged with the intention of half of the proceeds being handed over to the Spanish government, while 20% will go to the nation’s pension fund, 10% to ‘research’, 10% to fighting world hunger, and 10% to the woman herself.

‘There is an international agreement which states that no country may claim ownership of a planet or star but it says nothing about individuals,’ said Senorita Duran.

‘I am not stupid; I know the law. I did it, but anyone else could have done it. It simply occurred to me first.’
 

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