Star Trek: Vulcan
Hidden Universe Travel Guide Book 1
Paperback
By Dayton Ward
Art by Livio Ramondelli and Peter Markowski
Publisher: Insight Editions
Release date: July 19, 2016

Of all the planets in the Star Trek universe, Vulcan is perhaps the most intriguing to fans of the franchise, thanks to its distinction as being the home world of Mr. Spock. Therefore, it makes sense that for the launch of their Hidden Universe travel guide book series, Insight Editions selected Vulcan as its first destination with Hidden Universe: Star Trek: A Travel Guide to Vulcan!

Modeled after color travel guides books by the likes of Fodor’s and National Geographic, in A Travel Guide to Vulcan!, Dayton Ward provides readers with all the pertinent information needed to properly traverse the planet and interact with locals, as well as where to eat, sleep, shop, sightsee, and much more.

Two previously unknown moons of Pluto, with the temporary names “P4” and “P5,” were recently discovered, and now the public has a chance to vote on what to name them!

One of the 21 proposed names on the ballot is Vulcan, which in the Star Trek universe is the name of Mr. Spock’s home world. Head over to the SETI website Pluto Rocks and cast your vote for Vulcan, which is actually in the lead right now, with Cerberus and Styx following close behind.

William Shatner, who played starship Captain James T. Kirk on the original Star Trek television series and movies, is actually the person who suggested that Vulcan, which is the name of the Roman god of lava and smoke, and the nephew of Pluto, be added to the ballot. Shatner has been tweeting the link out to plutorocks.com, urging his followers to vote for Vulcan, in hopes that the International Astronomical Union (IAU) will actually choose the name.

Star Trek fans know that the planet Vulcan is the home world of Spock, the half-Vulcan half-human science officer on the U.S.S. Enterprise. For years, the city of Vulcan in Alberta, Canada, has enjoyed heightened popularity because of their name, and has embraced Star Trek fans with events and themed memorabilia throughout the city, including a Trek-themed tourist station. Vulcan even put in a bid to host the premiere of the J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek prequel.

This year, CBS (which owns the Star Trek franchise) approved the city’s status change to Vulcan: The Official Star Trek Capital of Canada, and on April 23, 2010, the city had a ceremony with honored guest Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Spock in the original 1960s television series, as well as in seven feature films, including 2009’s Star Trek. The city presented a bronze bust of Nimoy and Nimoy gave Spock’s iconic “live long and prosper” handprint.

Today, Nimoy posted an image through this Twitter account of the poster that the city of Vulcan created in honor of his visit. The poster is based on the viral ‘Obama Hope’ poster, welcoming home Spock to Vulcan.

Check out here below the official images from the event here, courtesy of CBS, as well as the aforementioned poster and also video that was taken of the event.