Space & Astronomy

Spock's real-life home planet is not what it seems, new study finds

By T.K. Randall
June 1, 2024

Image: Leonard Nimoy
Credit: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0 (adapted) Situated a mere 16 light years away, the planet, which was thought to be twice the size of the Earth, was discovered 6 years ago in orbit around a star known as 40 Eridani A which also happens to have strong ties to the popular science fiction franchise.

Its significance stems from the work of British author James Blish who in 1968 declared in his book Star Trek 2 that 40 Eridani A is the star around which the planet Vulcan orbits.

Legendary Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry later doubled down on this idea in the 1990s when he wrote that the Erdiani system would be the ideal place for Spock's homeworld.Now, though, the mere existence of this real-life planet Vulcan has been called into serious doubt thanks to new data recorded by astronomers at the Kitt Peak National Observatory.

Many extrasolar worlds are discovered by looking out for the telltale 'wobble' of the host star caused by the gravitational tug of the planet as it orbits around it, as was the case with Eridani A.

By taking much more precise measurements than were possible back at the time of its discovery, however, astronomers have now been able to show that - in this particular instance - the apparent 'wobble' indicative of a planet is more likely to simply be the star itself flickering.

This means that, sadly, this real-life counterpart of Spock's homeworld probably doesn't actually exist.

Source: Independent

Tags: Planet, Vulcan