Astronomers have just discovered the original planet of Spock, Vulcan

Nobody says that extraterrestrials live in the area, but astronomers have discovered an exoplanet in orbit around 40 Eridani A, a star known to "Star Trek" fans as a star of Spock's home planet, Vulcan.

The new exoplanet is 16 light years from Earth in the Constellation Eridanus. It revolves around its host star – a sun-like star with the formal designation of HD 26965 – just inside the habitable zone, where water could exist in liquid form and where life such as we know it might be possible.

"This totally surprised us," said Jian Ge, professor of astronomy at the University of Florida and co-author of a new journal on discovery, in an email to NBC News MACH. . "We did not intend to search Vulcan Orbit HD 26965."

The exoplanet is about twice as large as the Earth and is considered the "super-Earth" closest to orbiting a sun-shaped star. For now, it is known as HD 26965b, according to the naming guidelines established by the International Astronomical Union. But Ge said he was intending to contact the union to request that the exoplanet be named Vulcan.

It might be fun to name a real planet after a fictional world, but is it – as Spock might ask – logical? "Absolutely yes!" Sara Seager, astrophysicist and global scientist at MIT, said in an email. "" Star Trek "(and other science fiction articles) have opened the door for exoplanet enthusiasts."

Ge said that the exoplanet should have an atmosphere and be locked with its star. This means that one side faces the star while the other side points to the finger. If this is the case, the side facing the host star would probably be very hot – "probably too hot to be habitable," said Seager.

But Ge said the dark, cold surface could be livable, adding that "life can survive underground as well, as Star Trek wants, Vulcans stay in caves."

Seth Shostak, chief astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., Said that Super-Earths "could very well be the kind of world where life could begin and perhaps become intelligent beings .. But you have to ask yourself – With all the turn of the evolution story on any planet, what is the probability that a planet at 16 light-years will eventually produce beings that seem almost identical to us, with the exception of ears that would challenge any hairdresser? "

The exoplanet was discovered using the Dharma Endowment Foundation Telescope, a 50-inch telescope atop Mount Lemmon in southern Arizona. But rather than directly observing the exoplanet, astronomers have inferred its presence based on the subtle movements of its host star in response to the moving gravitational field of the exoplanet.

"This reflex movement is much smaller because the star has a lot more mass than the planet, but with ultra-stable instrumentation, it can be detected," said Matthew Muterspaugh, a University astronomer. from Tennessee.

But you do not need a telescope to see the HD 26965.

"This star can be seen with the naked eye, unlike the host stars of most known planets discovered so far," said Bo Ma, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Florida and first author of the newspaper . "Now everyone can see 40 Eridani on a clear night and be proud to show Spock's house."

Want more stories about exoplanets?

FOLLOW NBC NEWS MACH ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM.