Gamma Hydra, also spelled as Gamma Hydrae, was an inhabited planetary system in the Gamma Hydra sector of the Beta Quadrant. It was a binary star system consisting of the stars Gamma Hydrae A and Gamma Hydrae B and at least four planets. (TOS: "The Deadly Years"; PIC: "Disengage")
History[]
By 2256, an Andorian colony had been established in this system. It was considered vulnerable to Klingon attack should the USS Shenzhou fail to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff with the Sarcophagus prior to the Battle of the Binary Stars. (DIS: "The Vulcan Hello")
In the mid-23rd century, a Federation experimental colony was founded on Gamma Hydra IV. In 2267, a rogue comet intersected with the orbital path of Gamma Hydra IV. As the trail of the comet passed directly through the planet, it was irradiated by with residue left behind by the comet. This radiation affected the colony, resulting in a total loss of life. (TOS: "The Deadly Years")
In 2285, in the Kobayashi Maru scenario, the USS Enterprise was on a training mission to Gamma Hydra. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
Stellar Cartography[]
The Gamma Hydra system was located in the constellation Hydra. This system was approximately 134 light years from Sol and six light years from a binary star system, where, in 2256, the first battle of the Federation-Klingon War occurred. (DIS: "The Vulcan Hello")
Between 2160 and 2387, this system was near both the Federation-Klingon border and the Romulan Neutral Zone, (TOS: "The Deadly Years"; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
In the 2260s, this system fell within the administrative area of Starbase 10. (TOS: "The Deadly Years")
In 2366, the location of Gamma Hydra was labeled on a tactical intelligence analysis star chart. (TNG: "The Defector" okudagram)
In 2367, the location of Gamma Hydra was labeled on a tactical situation monitor in Captain Benjamin Maxwell's ready room on the USS Phoenix. (TNG: "The Wounded" okudagram)
In 2368, the location of Gamma Hydra was labeled on a tachyon detection grid. (TNG: "Redemption II" remastered okudagram graphic)
In 2366, in an alternate timeline, during the Federation-Klingon War, Gamma Hydra's position was labeled on a tactical situation monitor on the bridge and in the ready room of the USS Enterprise-D. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise", okudagram)
Information on this system was derived from the episodes and films, 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.
In the episode "Disengage", the location of this star system was seen on the bridge of the SS Eleos XII on what appears to be an updated chart from Star Trek: Star Charts. Dave Blass published pictures of the set on his website.
According to Star Trek: Star Charts (p. 56, "United Federation of Planets II") and Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library ("Federation Historical Highlights, 2161-2385"), Gamma Hydra (spelled as "Gamma Hydrae" in these reference works) was a G-class star. The star's system was a destination on the major space lanes.
External links[]
- Gamma Hydra at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Gamma Hydrae at Wikipedia