Ceti Alpha

Ceti Alpha system
Known space map showing Ceti Alpha.
Orbiting bodies and locales:	at least 4 planets, including Belmara IV
Location:	the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrant
Stars in space.

Ceti Alpha (also known as Menkar or Alpha Ceti) is a star with an associated star system of five planets and an extensive asteroid belt. Ceti Alpha is located in or near Federation space in the Beta Quadrant's Mutara sector, and is visible from Sol in the Cetus constellation.

In 2267, the USS Enterprise deposited Khan Noonien Singh and the survivors from the SS Botany Bay on Ceti Alpha V, following their attempt to seize control of the Enterprise. Although it was a lush planet that they could thrive upon, that all changed six months later when Ceti Alpha VI exploded and destroyed all terrain and animal life on Ceti Alpha V. (TOS episode & novelization: Space Seed; TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Wrath of Khan; ENT episode: "Twilight"; TOS - The Eugenics Wars novel: To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh)

Following Ceti Alpha VI's accidental destruction by a top secret research team on starbase 47-Vanguard, Starfleet forged new charts of the Ceti Alpha system to cover up their experiments, pretending that Ceti Alpha V was actually Ceti Alpha IV. (VAN novel: Storming Heaven)

In terms of spacelane access, Ceti Alpha was located in the general vicinity of Detria, Altair and Bolarus. (ST video game: Conquest)

Ceti Alpha was part of the battle map of Conquest. The novelization of The Wrath of Khan by Vonda N. McIntyre referred to the system as its real-life scientific name Alpha Ceti until the work was reprinted in Duty, Honor, Redemption in 2003. In TNG video game: Birth of the Federation, the orbital configuration of the game map star systems was randomly generated each time a new game started.

System

• Ceti Alpha (primary)
  • Ceti Alpha I
  • Ceti Alpha II
  • Ceti Alpha III
  • Ceti Alpha IV
  • Ceti Alpha V
  • Ceti Alpha VI (destroyed)
  • Ceti Alpha asteroid belt

Appendices

ST reference: Star Charts does not render Ceti Alpha in the real world location of Alpha Ceti. Instead the location is consistent with Federation Historical Highlights, 2161-2385 (lower-right) of Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library.

Connections

Stars, systems and objects of the Cetus constellation
13 Ceti • Ceti Alpha (Menkar) • Cetus system • Chi Ceti A • Deneb Kaitos (Beta-16 Ceti) • Gamma Ceti (Kaffaljidhma: Gamma Ceti I, Gamma Ceti I-A, Gamma Ceti I-B) • Epsilon Ceti (Risa) • Mu Ceti (Niburon) • NGC 321 (Eminiar: Eminiar VII • Vendikar) • NGC 994 (Aleriad • Azheril • Eruna) • Nimori Ceti • Omicron Ceti (Mira) • Sigma Ceti • Tau Ceti (Kaferia)

External link

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