A new planet might look like Vulcan from Star Trek, say scientists

The discovery was made using the Dharma Endowment Foundation Telescope (DEFT), a 50-inch telescope located atop Mount Lemmon in southern Arizona, United States. (Image Source: University of Florida)

A "super-Earth" discovered in orbit around a star located 16 light-years away from us could be the famous Vulcan planet of Star Trek, home of Spock's beloved character, taken from the popular television series. The discovery was made using the Dharma Endowment Foundation Telescope (DEFT), a 50-inch telescope located atop Mount Lemmon in southern Arizona, United States. The planet is the first "super-Earth" detected by the Dharma Survey.

The creators of Star Trek have associated the Vulcan planet with a real star, called 40 Eridani A. Scientists from the University of Florida (UF) and Tennessee State University (TSU) in the United States have discovered that the star is home to at least one planet. "The new planet is a" super-Earth "gravitating around the HD 26965 star, just 16 light-years from Earth, making it the closest super-Earth orbiting around the world. another star. " who led the study. "The planet is about twice the size of the Earth and revolves around its star with a 42-day period just inside the optimal habitable zone of the star," Ge added.

"This star can be seen with the naked eye, unlike the host stars of most known planets discovered so far. Now, everyone can see 40 Eridani on a clear night and be proud to show Spock's house, "said Bo Ma, first author of the study published in the Royal Astronomical Society's Monthly Notices. The orange HD 26965 is slightly colder and slightly less massive than our Sun. It is approximately the same age as our Sun and its 10.1 year magnetic cycle is almost identical to that of the 11.6 year old Sun. "The HD 26965 could be an ideal host star for an advanced civilization," said Matthew Muterspaugh of TSU.

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"Star Trek fans can experience the HD 26965 star through its other name, 40 Eridani A," said Gregory Henry of TSU. In a letter published in the July 1991 issue of Sky and Telescope, Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, and scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Center confirmed the identification of 40 Eridani A as a Vulcan host star. The star system 40 Eridani is composed of three stars. Vulcan orbits the primary star, and the two companion stars "shone brightly in the Vulcan sky," they write in their 1991 letter.

"Vulcan is the home planet of science officer, Mr. Spock, in the original science fiction series" Star Trek, "said Henry. "Spock served on the Enterprise ship, whose mission was to search for new strange worlds, a mission shared by the Dharma Planet Survey," he said.

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