Time To Deport Star Trek Fans To 40 Eridani
A MISSION to an inhabitable planet around the Vulcan Star 40 Eridani? Can we send Star Trek fans there?
From Planet Quest:
Astronomers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have recently concluded that the upcoming planet-finding mission, SIM PlanetQuest, would be able to detect an Earth-like planet around the star 40 Eridani, a planet familiar to “Star Trek” fans as “Vulcan.” 40 Eridani, a triple-star system 16 light-years from Earth, includes a red-orange K dwarf star slightly smaller and cooler than our sun. Vulcan is thought to orbit that dwarf star, called 40 Eridani A.When pondering the idea that SIM might be able to detect Vulcan, astronomer Dr. Angelle Tanner at Caltech had two questions: Can a planet form around 40 Eridani A? Can SIM detect such a planet? She consulted a planetary theorist, Dr. Sean Raymond of the University of Colorado, Boulder. “Since the three members of the triple star system are so far away from each other [hundreds of astronomical units – the Earth-Sun distance], I see no reason why an Earth-mass planet would not be able to form around the primary star, 40 Eridani A,” he said.
Posted: 12th, May 2007 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
