Star chart of surrounding area
61 Cygni (or Bessel's star) was a star system consisting of binary companion stars, 61 Cygni A and 61 Cygni B, located about 11.4 light years from Sol.
On several occasions in 2364, viewscreen readouts aboard the USS Enterprise-D showed the location of the A and B 61 Cygni stars, in the form of a star chart from the Enterprise-D library computer. (TNG: "The Naked Now", "The Last Outpost", "Conspiracy")
Background
- 61 Cygni, or Bessel's star, is a real system in the constellation of Cygnus. Modern scientists have determined 61 Cygni's components are spectral class K5V and K7V.
- The Enterprise computer's star chart was a drawing by Rick Sternbach that had originally been published, years earlier, on page 77 of the non-canon reference book Spaceflight Chronology. This chart showed Earth commercial and exploration routes after the use of warp drive began. 61 Cygni A is in the bottom right corner of the chart at the end of an exploration route.
- The Star Fleet Technical Manual lists the United Plants of 61 Cygni as one of the founding members of the Federation. Later, 61 Cygni would be associated with the homeworld of the Tellarite race in other non-canon publications, such as The Worlds of the Federation.
External links
- 61 Cygni at Wikipedia
- 61 Cygni at the Internet Stellar Database