Star Trek's famous planet Vulcan does not actually exist

However, as researchers were working their way through a list of exoplanets that NASA is considering for closer study, they stumbled on some issues concerning 40 Eri b (planet Vulcan).

The findings were not entirely unexpected as some astronomers had already questioned whether 40 Eri b was actually a planet shortly after it was first spotted.

The main reason behind their doubts was that it seemed unlikely that the duration of one orbit would be the same as the duration of a one-star rotation.

But others argued for the planet’s existence.

"Vulcan is remarkable because the idea of this little body inside the orbit of Mercury makes perfect sense," Tom Levenson, professor of science writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told National Geographic in 2015.

"If you believe Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity, which everyone does at that time, the discovery of a slight wobble in the middle of Mercury’s orbit that can’t be explained by the tug of Venus or Earth has only one interpretation: there has to be an undiscovered planet or flock of asteroids that we can’t see because it’s too close to the sun but must be exerting some gravitational influence on Mercury."

It was an analysis using radial velocity to study the wavelengths of light emitted from 40 Eridani that, at the time, proved Vulcan’s existence.

The new team, however, traced features of the light spectrum from the star only to find that the pull that had been observed was actually due to activity on the surface of the star, not the indication of an exoplanet, reported Phys.org.

Perhaps Star Trek fans can turn their attention to this planet that resembles Vulcan.