Tau Ceti

Tau Ceti was a system centered around a star located about 11.8 light years from Sol. This location is mentioned in communications that are part of Starfleet Academy's Kobayashi Maru scenario. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

At some point prior to 2268, the USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, engaged and defeated a Romulan vessel near Tau Ceti, using the Cochrane deceleration maneuver. (TOS: "Whom Gods Destroy")

This system was the site of the Tau Ceti Accords signed between the Vulcan High Command and the Andorian Empire. (ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem")

Tau Ceti is notable in the Mirror Universe, as the system in which the Terran Empire lost twelve ships in a battle against alien rebels. Propaganda had spread that this was a major win for the Terran Empire, when in fact it was a sign they were beginning to lose. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly") Alpha and Beta Quadrant star chart Alpha and Beta Quadrant star chart

In 2364, Tau Ceti was noted on a large star chart at Starfleet Headquarters. Also, on several other occasions that year, viewscreen readouts aboard the USS Enterprise-D showed the location of Tau Ceti, in the form of charts from the Enterprise library computer. (TNG: "The Naked Now", "The Last Outpost", "Conspiracy")

• Tau Ceti (primary)
  • Tau Ceti I
  • Tau Ceti II
  • Tau Ceti III
  • Tau Ceti IV
  • Tau Ceti Prime

Background

The Enterprise computer's star chart was a drawing by Rick Sternbach that had originally been published, years earlier, on page 77 of the reference titled Spaceflight Chronology. This chart showed Earth commercial and exploration routes in the 2050s and 2060s, but no text attesting to this fact was included in the portion used onscreen, just the labeled names of the stars. The Starfleet HQ chart was the image behind the chair in the room where Dexter Remmick was killed in "Conspiracy". It appears there to be near Sol, Holberg 917G and Alpha Centauri.

Doctor Beverly Crusher mistakenly referred to Tau Alpha C as Tau Ceti in TNG: "Journey's End".

Tau Ceti is a real system in the Cetus constellation. Modern scientists have determined it is spectral class G8V.