Beta Niobe was once a star with an associated system.
- The stellar cartography notation using the Greek language letter "beta" indicates that there might be a star group, constellation or stellar classification of some sort named "", of which Beta Niobe would logically be indicated to be the second most prominent star or system. Other stars and systems that are so named include Sigma Niobe, Zeta Niobe and Lyra Niobe.
History and specifics
The Beta Niobe primary star went supernova in the year 2269 and became a neutron star.
The star was orbited by several planets, including Sarpeidon, which were destroyed when the star went nova. (TOS episode & Star Trek 4 novelization: All Our Yesterdays, TOS novel: Yesterday's Son)
Specifics
Beta Niobe was formerly a class M red giant star. (DTI novel: Forgotten History)
It was denoted on the explored galaxy star chart as being in the general vicinity of Ariannus, Arret and Beta Lyrae. (TOS movie: The Undiscovered Country)
Another star chart showed it to be in the general vicinity of Asronal, Fect, Hannlaw, Stradania and the New Berlin system. (ST video game: Fleet Command)
It was reportedly not far from the Federation-Klingon Neutral Zone. (TOS novel: No Time Like the Past)
Although Sarpeidon was regarded as its only planet, it was the fourth of seven according to the Guardian of Forever. (TOS episode & Star Trek 4 novelization: All Our Yesterdays, TOS - Crucible novel: Provenance of Shadows, TOS novel: Time For Yesterday)
Beta Niobe's other planets weren't sizable. (DTI novel: Forgotten History)
History
"Long ago" the Sarpeid civilization discovered that Beta Niobe would nova, and by 2269 had retreated into Sarpeidon's past through the atavachron. (TOS episode & Star Trek 4 novelization: All Our Yesterdays)
In 2207, the USS Neumann surveyed the Beta Niobe system. (DTI novel: Forgotten History)
One of the planets contained a Federation colony in the mid-23rd century. In 2259, Dmitri Valtane, the son of Larisa and Nikolai Valtane, was born there. (ST video game: Starship Creator)
In 2269, the Federation starship USS Enterprise entered the system 3.5 hours prior to the nova and was present when the star exploded. (TOS episode & Star Trek 4 novelization: All Our Yesterdays)
By 2270, a dramatic ring of expelled stellar matter was visible in the region of the nova. While ferrying Robert April and Sarah April to Babel, the Enterprise was dragged by a tractor beam attached to Karla Five's ship at extremely high warp speeds through the nova, where it transitioned into the antimatter universe. (TAS episode & Log Ten novelization: The Counter-Clock Incident)
Beta Niobe eventually collapsed into a blue neutron star 20 kilometers in diameter after having vaporized its entire system. The star radiated high levels of x-rays and gamma rays. (TOS novel: No Time Like the Past)
In 2270, the Guardian of Forever displayed a star chart of Beta Niobe and its former system to Spock prior to his time travel visit into Sarpeidon's past. (TOS novel: Time For Yesterday)
Also in 2270, the Enterprise returned to the star to take advantage of a temporal wave left over from nova and return Seven of Nine to her own time. During their approach, they crossed a super-heated plasma bubble traveling at 0.1 C. Due to the presence of the temporal wave, Kirk and Seven beamed down not into open space, but into Sarpeidon's prehistory. (TOS novel: No Time Like the Past)
Radiation emitted by Beta Niobe, as well as the Minara supernova, threatened many nearby systems for years to follow, including Verzhik, which was particularly badly damaged in 2279. Starfleet worked to deflect the path of the radiation from inhabited systems in the Beta Niobe sector, a project involving many starships. (TOS - Mere Anarchy eBook: The Darkness Drops Again)
Alternate timelines
In the antimatter universe, the sun Amphion was its counterpart. (TAS episode & Log Ten novelization: The Counter-Clock Incident)
In the Kelvin timeline, the interstellar community had discovered Beta Niobe by the year 2262. Independent spacers from neutral space could access passage to Beta Niobe from the New Berlin system. (ST video game: Fleet Command)
Appendices
Connections
| vicinity of New Berlin star system | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stars and systems | Asronal • Beta Niobe • Fect • Hannlaw • New Berlin • Stradania | 
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beta Niobe sector | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beta Niobe's former star system: | Beta Niobe primary star (nova remnant): Beta Niobe III • Sarpeidon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
- TOS episode & Star Trek 4 novelization: All Our Yesterdays
- TAS episode & Log Ten novelization: The Counter-Clock Incident
- TOS novel: Yesterday's Son
- TOS novel: Time For Yesterday
- TOS novel: No Time Like the Past
Mentions
- TOS movie: The Undiscovered Country
- TOS - Mere Anarchy eBook: The Darkness Drops Again
- DTI novel: Forgotten History
- Star Trek Adventures RPG module: The Sciences Division
- ST reference: Star Trek Maps
- ST video game: Fleet Command
External link
- Beta Niobe article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.