The potential planet’s placement caused a stir when it was first announced since it matched up pretty perfectly with a description of the placement of Vulcan established by franchise creator Gene Roddenberry. Back in 1991, Roddenberry teamed up with scientists to figure out where Vulcan would logically exist, and the team wrote a letter to Sky & Telescope Magazine positing that a planet near 40 Eridani A would be the perfect stand-in for Spock’s homeland. They noted that some “Star Trek” books had put out conflicting information about the placement of Vulcan, but that 40 Eridani A would make the most sense as, due to its age, “an intelligent civilization could have evolved over the aeons on a planet circling 40 Eridani.” They went on to call the star “the more likely Vulcan sun.”

From that point on, the location of Vulcan was canonized in “Star Trek,” appearing in the 2002 reference guide “Star Trek: Star Charts,” getting a vague mention in an episode of “Star Trek: Enterprise,” and even appearing on a map in an episode of “Star Trek: Discovery.” Of course, the news that the real-life Vulcan (or HD 26965 b, as it was officially called) isn’t a planet doesn’t diminish the show’s mythology at all: it’s just one less fun fact for Trekkies to pull out at parties. The franchise’s track record for predicting the future still remains unmatched, though. (Well, at least this side of “The Simpsons.”) Vulcan may be a mirage, but modern marvels like tablets, smartphones, video chat, and translation apps were all a part of “Star Trek” lore before they were actually invented and became accessible as everyday gadgets.