Astronomers boldly went and found real Vulcan sun

LIVE long and prosper: Star Trek’s planet Vulcan, of course, does not exist. But we’ve just found the next best thing.

The star 40 Eridani was identified by the long-lasting TV and movie franchise as being where to find Vulcan, the home of the science officer Spock. It’s even featured in a few episodes.

Reality, however, has intervened. 40 Eridani (also known as HD 26965) is a triple-star system about 16 light years distant. The main star isn’t terribly big, scraping in at 80 per cent the size of our own.

The other two are tiny, and are in orbits tens of times further out than Pluto. But, by being close, it’s a favourite for astronomers seeking planets. They’ve found one.

It’s not exactly Earth-like. Its year lasts just 42 days. Its radius is twice that of Earth.

It’s likely to be hot on one side, and frozen on the other. At that distance, most worlds tend to end up tidal-locked – with its face permanently facing the star in the same way the same side of the moon always faces the Earth.

And its discovery was no coincidence. It was the first star examined by researchers at the Fairborn Observatory working with the Dharma Planet Survey. The discovery was made using the Dharma Endowment Foundation Telescope in southern Arizona.

Somehow, one suspects there is a Spock fan among them.