What makes it Vulcanlike, though, is that it circles its star, Kepler-10, once every 20 hours, in an orbit a twentieth the size of Mercury's.

ECONOMIST: Time to start giving extrasolar planets proper names

As we reported last month, an object surprisingly similar to an astronomical wild-goose from the 19th century, the mythic planet Vulcan, was found orbiting a star dubbed Kepler 10.

ECONOMIST: The search for other Earths is hotting up