In the science fiction series Star Trek (1966), the classic character Spock is one of the aliens. planet Vulcan, A celestial body that many scientists think is real. In a new study published in the scientific journal The Astronomical Journal, a group of researchers claims that the so-called planet Vulcan observed by some scientists is just an astronomical illusion.

American astronomer Abigail Burrows, of Dartmouth University and former contractor at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, claims that a so-called Vulcan planet has never existed.

Some scientists began to suspect the existence of a planet orbiting the star 40 Eridani A (HD 26965), located approximately 16.26 light-years from Earth, after noticing some gravitational disturbances in the star.

After disturbances were detected on 40 Eridani in 2018, some scientists took the planet’s presence in the region more seriously. But the truth is that Mr. Spock’s planet does not exist in real life. The group claims that, using NASA’s scientific instruments, they have managed to prove that Vulcan is actually just a fictional planet and never entered orbit of the star HD 26965.

“By investigating activity at a line-by-line level, we found a depth-dependent correlation between individual line RVs (radial velocity) and bulk RVs, which is indicative of periodic suppression of the convective blueshift that causes the observed RV variability rather than an orbital RV variability on the planet.” ,” the researchers explain in the introduction to the study.

False alarm: Supposed planet Vulcan does not exist

According to Burrows, the culprit in this confusion is the stellar activity of the object HD 26965. — it was this phenomenon that gave the impression that there was a planet orbiting the star.

probably, The signal emitted by this “fake planet” is related to some activity on the star’s surface. as a type of thermal convection. If scientists do not collect the correct information, these reactions can cause the result to be confusing.

Scientists generally use two types of methods called “transit method” and “radial velocity” to identify planets orbiting stars outside the Solar System. In the article, Scientists used radial velocity to understand the star’s more subtle variations and oscillations. So they realized that the disturbances were just stellar activity.

“We conclude that the combined evidence from activity correlations and depth dependence is consistent with an RV signature dominated by a rotationally modulated activity signal over a 42-day period. We hypothesize that this activity signature arises from the combination of speckles and convective blueshift suppression. The tools applied in our analysis are broad “It can be broadly applied to other stars and may help paint a more comprehensive picture of the signatures of stellar activity in future RV Doppler studies,” the study concludes.

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Source: Tec Mundo

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I'm Blaine Morgan, an experienced journalist and writer with over 8 years of experience in the tech industry. My expertise lies in writing about technology news and trends, covering everything from cutting-edge gadgets to emerging software developments. I've written for several leading publications including Gadget Onus where I am an author.

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