Thanks to Alexis for bringing this item to our attention
Super-Earth Discovered in (Fictional) Vulcan System
Thirty years ago, three astronomers and Gene Roddenberry, of Star Trek fame, made the case to Sky & Telescope readers that the orange-hued star 40 Eridani A ought to host Vulcan, Spock’s home. Now, a robotic survey has discovered a planet around that very star.
An artist’s illustration of the super-Earth orbiting 40 Eridani A, the host star of the fictional Vulcan.
Don Davis
Almost three decades ago, Gene Roddenberry (producer of the Star Trek universe) wrote a letter to Sky & Telescope, along with Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics astronomers Sallie Baliunas, Robert Donahue, and George Nassiopoulos. In their Letter to the Editor, they argued that 40 Eridani A — an orange-ish star 16 light-years away — would make the ideal home for Vulcan, the home planet of Science Officer Mr. Spock.
Now, a new discovery puts a little more science into that science fiction assertion.