A planet beyond the solar system that has been compared to Spock’s homeworld Vulcan in the Star Trek franchise may have been nothing more than an illusion caused by a jittery star.

The extrasolar planet or “exoplanet” (a term for a planet outside of our solar system) was proposed to orbit a star called 40 Eridani A or “Keid,” which is part of a triple star system located around 16.3 light-years from Earth.

In Star Trek, this star is also home to the planet Vulcan.

First announced in 2018, the planet caused quite a stir thanks to its similarities with Spock’s fictional home planet.


The Death of Vulcan: NEID Reveals That the Planet Candidate Orbiting HD 26965 Is Stellar Activity*

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ad34d5