Flare Sci-Fi Forums: Announcing the discovery of yet another extrasolar planet

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Posted by Alpha Centauri (Member # 338) on :

The 41st extrasolar planet is discovered. It's located at Epsilon Eridani, a K2V star, 600 million years young, and 10.7 lightyears from Earth. It's the nearest confirmed exoplanet so far.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000804/sc/space_planet_dc_1.html

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Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :

Isn't Epsilon Eridani where Vulcan is supposed to be?

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Posted by Diane (Member # 53) on :

Now we just need a starship with a warp drive.

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Posted by Alpha Centauri (Member # 338) on :

Vulcan is supposed to be orbiting the trinary star Omicron-2 Eridani. Also known as 40 Eridani and located 15.7 lightyears away, this system consists of a K-class star half as faint as the Sol, with further in orbit a white dwarf and a red dwarf. But I don't believe the 40 Eridani-assumption is strictly canon. It was an idea proposed in fanfic, and is generally accepted now. The above stats on the system, come from todays astronomical research, and have never been mentioned in Trek.

Epsilon Eridani has only 30% of Sol's brightness. Being also a very young star, it is unlikely that there are indigenous intelligent civilizations by now. It is even so young, that its planetary system is still not fully condensed into real planets, so can be concluded by infrared observations by the 1980s 'IRAS' space telescope. It observed an excess of infrared radiation, appearently caused by dust shrouds around the star itself.

Just some more info... for the ones who are interested.

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Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Vulcan was also assigned to Epsilon Eridani at some point, but I believe it's less-accepted than 40-Eridani. However, since a planet was found around Epsilon, not 40, everyone keeps making the Vulcan connection anyway.

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Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :

If there isn't much light - might that not account for the 'grey aliens'?? If there is low light - they'd have large eyes, and pale skin!

Andrew

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Posted by Curry Monster (Member # 12) on :

Interesting. Thanks for the info Alpha. Where'd you get it?

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Posted by Alpha Centauri (Member # 338) on :

Info about Epsilon Eri and 40 Eri? From my mind. I'm a die-hard amateur astronomer, those people have complete databases in their head.

The Vulcan question: 40 Eri was used in the most reputed fandom publications. There is only one (?) reference of Vulcan being in orbit around Eps Eri, namely Fred Goldsteins Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology (1980). But this has never been fully accepted in fandom.

The aliens: The little grey men are supposed to come from Zeta Reticuli: a wide binary star consisting of two G2V stars, both stars emitting 90% of Sol's light. Located 37 lightyears away. There have also been reports of them coming from Delta Pavonis, a G5V (I'm not sure about that) star, located some 19.2 lightyears away.

I've read an interesting article on the alien/Zeta Reticuli question, lately. It's not written by die-hard UFO geeks, but by scientists. It's very convincing. It was impossible for me to track it down again, but I had a copy of the HTML document on my harddisk, and uploaded it to: http://www.treknology.8m.com/zetareticuli.html.

Creating a new discussion: who of you do believe in alien visitations from space? I do, anyway. And that's all the fault of the above mentioned article.

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Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :

Are they out there? Almost certainly.
Are they here? I'm not saying.

Well, okay, I'll talk. I'm actually from the 5th planet orbiting the star you know as Nu Cassiopeia, which was settled by the native inhavitants of the fourth planet, about 250 years ago.

Or maybe I'm not.

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Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :

I can't possigly imagine what aliens capable of interstellar flight would want to do here...

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Posted by Alpha Centauri (Member # 338) on :

Observing/researching/acting out of curiousity? Probably they don't have a Prime Directive... if we believe in alien abduction. But regarding that, I think 99.99% of such stories are b*llsh*t.

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[This message has been edited by Alpha Centauri (edited August 06, 2000).]

Posted by Vacuum robot lady from Spaceballs (Member # 239) on :

I think they come to watch Survivor...

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Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :

Survivour?! I don't understand how anyone can watch that shit...

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Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

I think that was supposed to be the joke... :-)

And "survivour"? Do you guys actually spell it like that?

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Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :

Of course we do :P

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[This message has been edited by Fabrux (edited August 06, 2000).]

Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :

Does that mean you really watch "Voyageur?"

And Vulcan is at 40 Eridani-A canonically. Kinda. The plaque for the Brattain mentions her having been built at the 40 Eridani-A Starfleet Yards at Vulcan.

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Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :

No, Voyageur is french :P

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"Fragile. Do not drop"
--posted on a Boeing 757

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Shik: The dedication plaque doesn't mention Vulcan, just the "40 Eridani-A Starfleet Construction Yards".

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"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra, and then, suddenly, it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come."
-Matt Groening