NASA's Search for the Planet Vulcan
Astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have concluded that the SIM PlanetQuest mission would be able to detect an Earth-like planet around 40 Eridani, a star familiar to "Star Trek" fans as the location of Spock's home planet, Vulcan (image).
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, which Vulcan is thought to orbit
Astronomer Dr. Angelle Tanner at Caltech had two questions about the upcoming search for Vulcan: Can a planet form around 40 Eridani A? Can SIM detect such a planet? Answering Tanner, Dr. Sean Raymond of the University of Colorado, Boulder believes that "Since the three members of the triple star system are so far away from each other, I see no reason why an Earth-mass planet would not be able to form around the primary star, 40 Eridani A."
If Vulcan life were to exist on the planet, the orbit of the planet would have to lie in a sweet spot around the star where liquid water could be present on its surface. Water is an essential ingredient for any organism to live long and prosper. For 40 Eridani A, this spot, or "habitable zone," is 0.6 astronomical units from the star - six-month "year."
The planet-detection technology of the SIM PlanetQuest instrument will be so accurate, it could measure the thickness of a nickel at a distance from Earth to the moon. Using a set of mathematical models based on Newton's Laws, Tanner was able to conclude that SIM would be able to definitively determine whether there is an Earth-mass planet orbiting in the habitable zone around 40 Eridani A.
When asked what life would be like on Vulcan, Tanner speculated that the inhabitants might be pale. "A K dwarf star emits its light at wavelengths which are a bit redder compared to those from the Sun, so I wonder whether it's harder to get a tan there," she said.
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