Deneb

Deneb (Arabic for tail) is the common name of the star Alpha Cygni in the constellation Cygnus (swan). Its spectral class is A2Ia. Deneb's distance from Sol was still disputed even into the 21st century with values ranging from 1,500 Light Years to 3,200 light years. It is located in or near Federation space. (TNG: "Conspiracy") It is the primary star of the Deneb system. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

Background

Deneb was mentioned as a small note on a very large star chart graphic created for "Conspiracy". It was the image behind the chair in the room where Dexter Remmick was killed. It appears to be located within an outlined block, which may indicate that it was surrounded or was even a part of Federation territory at the time. It seemed to be fairly close to many other stars which are known to be close to the Sol system, like Gamma Trianguli VI and Makus III, although Canopus III does question the accuracy of that star chart.

While Alpha Cygni (tail of the swan) is the most famous Deneb, it is not the only star with the word Deneb in its name. Other existing Denebs are:

• Deneb Dulfim (Epsilon Delphini, tail of the dolphin) - 359 light years away
• Deneb Algiedi (Delta Capricorni, tail of the goat) - 39 light years away
• Deneb Kaitos Schemali (Iota Ceti, tail of the whale) - 290 light years away
• Deneb el Okab (Zeta Aquilae) - 83.2 light years away
• Deneb Algenubi (Eta Ceti), also called simply Dheneb (note differing spelling) - 118 light years away

The Deneb system was visited in TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", but it has never been canonically established to which of these five stars this system actually belongs to.