Alpha Centauri

Inner system of primary.

Alpha Centauri is a trinary star system consisting of the three companion stars Rigil Kentaurus, Quindar and Proxima.

History and specifics

Alpha Centauri vicinity.

At a little over four light-years distant, this is the closest star system to Earth in the Sol system. By the 24th century, the system's three inhabited planets and various space stations and outposts supported a population of over 21 billion sentient individuals. (TOS reference: Star Fleet Technical Manual; ST reference: The Worlds of the Federation; TOS novels: Crisis on Centaurus, Time for Yesterday)

It is located in the Beta Quadrant.

In an early extraterrestrial observation, Alpha Centauri was surveyed by the Vulcan civilization's starship Fal Chaya. (Decipher RPG module: Starships)

The Federation worlds here are sometimes also referred to simply as Alpha Centauri. According to Starfleet Intelligence outpost maps, this system's coordinates are 1.27N 2.92W, placing it in the Starfleet Intelligence sector 1. (FASA RPG module: Star Fleet Intelligence Manual)

During the Dominion War, Alpha Centauri was a pivotal planet in the Federation's defense, with its supply lines to Vulcan being the Federation's "life's blood", as Admiral Sitak told Benjamin Sisko in 2374. Captain Sisko thought it was a mistake to devote so many ships to protect them from the Jem'Hadar in a bid to "defend our way to victory". (DS9 novelization: ...Sacrifice of Angels)

Later that year, Alpha Centauri, along with Vulcan, Andor and Tellar Prime, were threatened by the fall of Betazed to the Dominion. (DS9 episode: "In the Pale Moonlight")

A Federation transwarp hub was opened in the system in the year 2404, an event which was attended by Admiral Chakotay. (ST website: The Path to 2409)

Star system

• Rigil Kentaurus (A) and Quindar (B)*, binary pair
  • Alpha Centauri I
  • Behemoth (Alpha Centauri II)
  • Alpha Centauri III
    • one moon
  • Alpha Centauri IV (Centaurus)
    • two moons
  • Alpha Centauri V
    • two moons
  • Alpha Centauri VI
    • 8 moons
  • Alpha Centauri VII (Al Rijil, the Alpha Centauri planet)
  • Alpha Centauri VIII
  • Alpha Centauri IX
  • Alpha Centauri X
  • Alpha Centauri XI
  • Alpha Centauri XII
  • Alpha Centauri XIII
• Quindar (B)
  • New Montana
  • Perry
  • Lang
  • Kent
  • Olson
• Proxima (C), third star component
  • Proxima Centauri II
  • Proxima Alpha
  • Proxima Beta
  • Proxima Maintenance Yards

See also

• Alpha Centauri colony

Alternate timelines

In an alternate timeline, Alpha Centauri was wiped out by the Xindi following their destruction of Earth in 2154. (ENT episode: "Twilight")

In another alternate timeline in which Montgomery Scott rescued James T. Kirk before he could be absorbed into the Nexus, Alpha Centauri was the first world that had been assimilated and was in the process of being converted into raw materials after the fall of Earth, decades after the assimilation of Earth in 2063. By 2293, the Alliance had secretly placed several hundred cloaked photon torpedoes near the system, intent on destroying the Borg presence there. (Star Trek novel: Engines of Destiny)

In another alternate timeline created by the death of Gabriel Bell prior to the Bell Riots in 2024, Earth remained a pre-warp civilization, which never expanded beyond the Sol System, in the 24th century. Consequently, neither the United Federation of Planets nor Starfleet ever existed. The USS Defiant, having been protected from the changes in the timeline by a subspace bubble, detected Romulan transmissions emanating from Alpha Centauri. This would indicate that the Romulan Star Empire was able to expand considerably further in this timeline due to the lack of Federation interference. (DS9 episode: "Past Tense, Part I")

Appendices

References

• Last Unicorn RPG module: Raiders, Renegades & Rogues

External links

• Alpha Centauri article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
• Alpha Centauri article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.