Wolf 359

The location of Wolf 359 on a star chart

Wolf 359 was the primary of the Wolf system. The system was located approximately eight light years from the Sol system.

In 2364, the location of Wolf 359 was labeled in a star chart of a stellar neighborhood with Sol at the center. This chart was stored in the USS Enterprise-D library computer. Later that year, the chart was scanned by Outpost 63. (TNG: "The Naked Now", production art; TNG: "The Last Outpost")

In 2371, the location of Wolf 359 was labeled in the star chart Data and Picard were studying in stellar cartography on the USS Enterprise-D. (Star Trek Generations, display graphic)

Battle of Wolf 359

Several destroyed starships at Wolf 359

Main article: Battle of Wolf 359

The Wolf system was the site of the first large-scale engagement between Starfleet and the Borg. In 2367, a fleet of forty ships under the command of Admiral Hanson engaged a Borg cube commanded by Locutus at the Battle of Wolf 359. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise-D had been assimilated by the Borg, and as Locutus, unwillingly provided them with a decisive advantage through his knowledge of Starfleet technology and tactics. This led to the Federation fleet, tasked with preventing the advance of the Borg to Earth, being quickly overwhelmed and utterly destroyed. Of the forty vessels that engaged the Borg cube, thirty-nine were destroyed, resulting in approximately eleven thousand deaths. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II")

The Enterprise-D arrived late to the battlefield only to find the wreckage and debris of the starships destroyed by the Borg. Among the ships lost at Wolf 359 were the USS Melbourne, command of which had been offered to Commander William T. Riker, and which he had declined. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II") Also lost was the USS Saratoga, on which then Lt. Commander Benjamin Sisko was serving. Sisko lost his wife Jennifer in the destruction of the Saratoga, and Sisko long blamed and disliked Picard for his role in her death. (DS9: "Emissary")

Appendices

Background information

The location of Wolf 359 was depicted in the chart naming stars within 20 light years of Sol. The chart was drawn by Rick Sternbach for the Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology in the late 1970s. Found on page 77, this chart showed Earth commercial and exploration routes after the use of warp drive began. This area of space was identified in "The Explored Galaxy" star chart as being between the Tholian Assembly and Romulus. Both were identified in DS9: "Call to Arms" as being located in the Alpha Quadrant.

According to StarTrek.com, Wolf 359 was 7.6 light years (2.35 parsecs) from Sol. [1]

According to Star Trek: Star Charts (Page 45), Wolf 359 was located in the Beta Quadrant. Wolf 359 was a M class star with a magnitude of +9.

Apocrypha

In non-canon sources, comics of the DC TNG volume 2 series mention Wolf 359 was maintained as a wreckyard of the doomed ships, as depicted in the stories "The Worst of Both Worlds, Part I!" and again in "And Death Shall Have No Dominion". Star Trek Online also depicted such a memorial.

External links

• Template:NCwiki
• Wolf 359 at Wikipedia
• Wolf 359 at the Internet Stellar Database
• Wolf 359 at SolStation.com