Astrophysicist 'Finds' Superman's Planet Krypton

Neil deGrasse Tyson gives DC Comics a hand
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 5, 2012 9:24 AM CST
Updated Nov 10, 2012 7:22 AM CST
Astrophysicist 'Finds' Superman's Planet Krypton
In this image released by Norton Books, Neil DeGrasse Tyson is shown.   (AP Photo/Norton Books)

OK, the planet Krypton still isn't real—but now we know where it would be if it existed. Using data from DC Comics, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has found a spot in space for Superman's home planet, the New York Post reports. "One of our staffers reached out to (Tyson) to see if he’d assist for a story we were doing, and he actually came up with a location," says a DC boss. It's 27.1 light years from Earth in the Corvus constellation, spinning around a red dwarf star known as LHS 2520.

"As a native of Metropolis, I was delighted to help Superman, who has done so much for my city over all these years," Tyson says. News of the planet's location comes as part of an Action Comics storyline that finds Superman trying to figure out where it is. In the story, Superman figures out the location himself. "It’s clear that if he weren’t a superhero, he would have made quite an astrophysicist," says Tyson, who himself appears in the issue. (More Superman stories.)

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