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Merak, also known as Beta Ursae Majoris or 48 Ursae Majoris, was an inhabited planetary system in the Alpha Quadrant. In Earth's night sky, it appeared as a second-magnitude star.

Components

Stellar system

This was a single star system. The primary Merak (the proper name for Beta Ursae Majoris) was an A-type dwarf.

Planetary system

In this system, there were at least two planets, including the inhabited planet Merak II.

History

Merak II was a Federation member by the mid-23rd century. After developing warp travel, this planet had been successfully inducted into the Federation.

When the Venari Ral laid Omega-47 mines around the core of Federation space in 3196, this system was within the enclosed region. (SA: "300th Night", "Rubincon")

Stellar cartography

The Merak system was visible from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. This system could be found in the asterism Big Dipper and, when aligned with Alpha Majoris, they pointed to Polaris. It was approximately 80 light years from Sol.

In the 2150s, this system's position was labeled on an United Earth star chart which was displayed in several crew and guest quarters aboard the Enterprise. (Star Trek: Enterprise, set decoration)

In 2259, the location of this system was labeled on a stellar cartography chart that was seen on the USS Enterprise's ready room viewscreen. This system's symbol had a blue color, indicating that it was affiliated with the Federation. The system was shown to be in the Kiley Local sector. (SNW: "Strange New Worlds", "Children of the Comet", "Spock Amok")

On stardate 1292.4, the location of this system was labeled on a star chart used during a Section 31 Alpha Team briefing. (Star Trek: Section 31)

In 2399, the location of Merak was labeled in a Federation star chart that was in Fleet Admiral Kirsten Clancy's office at Starfleet Headquarters. This system was in or near Federation space. (PIC: "Maps and Legends")

In 3195, the position of Merak (Beta Ursae Majoris) was labeled on a Federation star chart which was used in Starfleet Academy's Stellar Cartography laboratory. Systems affiliated with the Federation, including this one, had blue labels. (SA: "Beta Test")

In 3196, during the Omega-47 crisis, the location of Merak (Beta Ursae Majoris) was depicted on star charts and readouts used across several locations on the USS Athena to locate, monitor, and respond to the Omega-47 mines laid by the Venari Ral. (SA: "300th Night", "Rubincon")

Appendices

Background information

This star system was only mentioned in writing.

The name of this system came from the source material used, the Star Trek: Star Charts and Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library, to create the star charts seen in Star Trek: Picard.

Information on this system was derived from the episodes, from the reference works Star Trek: Star Charts and Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library, and from real world sources. The reference works were used extensively in the creation of star charts seen in Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The real-world information added to the article was current as of 2026.

In StarTrek.com, it was stated that the primary of the Merak system was named Merak (Bayer designation Beta Ursae Majoris). Known since antiquity on Earth, this star was located about 78 light years from the Sol system. [1](X)

External links