Merak
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 star 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.
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 2151, this system's position was labeled on an United Earth star chart which was displayed in Daniels' quarters aboard the Enterprise. (ENT: "Cold Front")
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. (SNW: "Strange New Worlds", "Children of the Comet", "Spock Amok")
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")
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, and Star Trek: Lower Decks. The real-world information added to the article was current as of 2025.
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)