Astronomers have found an exoplanet reminiscent of the planet Vulcan from “Star Trek,” orbiting a star in a system only 16 light-years from Earth.
The discovery, detailed in a study published this week in the Monthly Notice of the Royal Astronomical Society, is the first super-Earth detected by the Dharma Planet Survey and Dharma Endowment Foundation Telescope. The 50-inch telescope is on top of Mt. Lemmon in southern Arizona.It’s “the closest super-Earth orbiting another Sun-like star,” said Jian Ge, study author and astronomer from the University of Florida, in a statement.Super-Earths have a mass greater than Earth’s but aren’t as big as other giant, gaseous planets.“The planet is roughly twice the size of Earth and orbits its star with a 42-day period just inside the star’s optimal habitable zone,” Ge said. When a planet is within the habitable zone of its star, that means liquid water could pool on its surface — which could support life as we know it.
It orbits an orange-tinted star named HD 26965, which is only slightly cooler and little less massive than our own sun. It is comparable in age to our sun, and it has a similar magnetic cycle, according to Tennessee State University astronomer and study author Matthew Muterspaugh.
HD 26965 may be an ideal host star for an advanced civilization..
40 Eridani A, also known as HD 26965, was discovered using the Dharma Endowment Foundation Telescope (DEFT) and is the first “super-Earth” found by the Dharma Survey, the researchers noted.
“This star can be seen with the naked eye, unlike the host stars of most of the known planets discovered to date,” said University of Florida astronomer and lead author of the study Bo Ma, in a statement. “Now, anyone can see 40 Eridani A on a clear night and be proud to point out Spock’s home.”
