Beta Lyrae in 2269
With its two main component-stars circling each other so close that they are even touching, Beta Lyrae (or Sheliak) is a contact binary star whose two components are of spectral class B7 and A8, and is the primary of the Beta Lyrae system, located 142° NE of the galactic plane, about 882 light years from Sol. Spock once described Beta Lyrae as "one of the rare spectacles of the galaxy." He further noted that "almost every ship that passes stops to see it."
While transporting a Slaver stasis box to Starbase 25 aboard the shuttlecraft Copernicus in 2269, a second stasis box was discovered circling the Beta Lyrae star on an ice-bound planet located in that star's system. (TAS: "The Slaver Weapon")
Background
Alpha and Beta Quadrant star chart which depicts Beta Lyrae (Sheliak)
This star was mentioned, as Beta Lyrae, in a small note on a very large star chart graphic created for TNG: "Conspiracy". It was the image behind the chair in the room where Dexter Remmick was killed. It appears to be located within an outlined block, which may indicate that it was surrounded or was even a part of Federation territory at the time.
It has yet to be clarified if the Beta Lyrae system (Sheliak system) is the same as the Shelia system, home of the Sheliak race. If so, this would seem to contradict the theory of Tau Cygna, a system claimed by the Sheliak, actually being Tau Cygni, a real binary star approximately 69 light years away from Sol, as Beta Lyrae is approximately 882 light years from Sol, and thereby almost thirteen times farther away than Tau Cygna.