History Main / StockStarSystems

* In ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', Pandora is a moon in the Alpha Centauri A system. This is only implied in the film itself, but confirmed [[AllThereInTheManual in the backstory]].

* In ''Literature/AcrossTheUniverseBethRevis'', the ''[[GenerationShip Godspeed]]'' is on a 300-year mission to colonize "Centauri-Earth", a habitable [[BinarySuns circumbinary planet]] orbiting Alpha Centauri A and B.
* In ''Literature/CaptainFrenchOrTheQuestForParadise'', humanity's first interstellar flight involved a near-light jump to Alpha Centauri, where the titular protagonist discovered a habitable planet, which he named after his daughter Penelope. It's one of the first exoplanets settled by humanity.
* The ''Literature/ChildeCycle'', by Creator/GordonRDickson, the planets of Newton and Cassida orbit Alpha Centauri B and Alpha Centauri A respectively. Newton, being the scientific powerhouse it is, dominates the system as a whole. This was changed from earlier versions, where Newton originally orbited Arcturus.

* The original ''Literature/PlanetOfTheApes'' novel was set on a planet in the Alpha Centauri system.

*** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E12PastTensePartII Past Tense, Part II]]", one of the signs the timeline's been altered is that the ''Defiant'' is picking up Romulan communication signals near Alpha Centauri.

** In ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', Stamets describes meeting his husband in a bar in the Alpha Centauri system.

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' has Alpha Centauri A as a scripted colony site for Earth-based empires.

* Much of ''Literature/ProjectHailMary'' takes place in the Tau Ceti system. The Eridians are from 40 Eridani A. Epsilon Eridani and Sirius are among the stars afflicted with [[AlienKudzu astrophage]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' has Sirius as a scripted colony site for Earth-based empires, and Procyon and Barnard's Star nearby as well. There's also [[LostColony Deneb]], which serves as the capital system for the [[TheEmpire Commonwealth of Man]].

-->-- ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''

* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'': The Sentients, one of the rarer enemy factions, are an enigmatic and alien race of [[MechanicalLifeforms pseudo-biological robots]]. They were eventually revealed to have been sent to Tau Ceti by the [[{{Precursors}} Orokin]] to terraform and prepare the system for settlement. Having worked hard for generations to make a home for themselves, and remembering how the Orokin [[AbusivePrecursors trashed their own system and the horrific abuses they laid on their subjects]], the Sentients decided to return to the Origin System to conquer it and [[KillEmAll scour it of life]].

** ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' takes place on LV-223, a moon in the Zeta Reticuli system.

*** Rigel X is visited by the crew of the NX-01 in "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS01E01E02BrokenBow the pilot episode]], and again in the series finale. The system is home to the Rigelian species and, according to the Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse, the Orions as well.

# '''Sirius''', also known as the "Dog Star", is ''the'' brightest star in the night sky, located about 8.6 light-years away. It's actually another binary system, with a large blue star and a tiny white dwarf[[note]]once another blue star, which aged into a red giant and then shed its outer layers, leaving only its faint core behind[[/note]] orbiting their shared center of mass every fifty years.

* "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" describes two disguised aliens meeting in a bar on Earth. One is from Aldebaran, and is on Earth to [[AliensAreBastards stir up wars for thrill-seeking tourists to take part in]]; the other is from Deneb, and is on Earth on the payroll of an [[ImAHumanitarian alien meat trust]].

-->--''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''

** Tau Ceti has one colonized world, the simply named Ceta. A massive planet that has the same gravity of Earth due to the lack of heavier metals. Thankfully it doesn’t suffer from frequent meteor storms.

* In ''Literature/AcrossTheUniverse'', the ''[[GenerationShip Godspeed]]'' is on a 300-year mission to colonize "Centauri-Earth", a habitable [[BinarySuns circumbinary planet]] orbiting Alpha Centauri A and B.

** Also in Babylon5, the titular station is stated to be in the Epsilon Eridani star system.

* VideoGame/''{{Warframe}}'': The Sentients, one of the rarer enemy factions, are an enigmatic and alien race of [[MechanicalLifeforms pseudo-biological robots]]. They were eventually revealed to have been sent to Tau Ceti by the [[{{Precursors}} Orokin]] to terraform and prepare the system for settlement. Having worked hard for generations to make a home for themselves, and remembering how the Orokin [[AbusivePrecursors trashed their own system and the horrific abuses they laid on their subjects]], the Sentients decided to return to the Origin System to conquer it and [[KillEmAll scour it of life]].

*** In "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E14TheAenar The Aenar]]", Regulus is used as a staging ground for a Vulcan invasion of Andoria. Considering how far away Regulus is from Procyon and 40 Eridani, it's likely the writers [[ArtisticLicenseAstronomy took some creative license here]] for the sake of using a familiar name.

* VideoGame/''Warframe'': The Sentients, one of the rarer enemy factions, are an enigmatic and alien race of [[MechanicalLifeforms pseudo-biological robots]]. They were eventually revealed to have been sent to Tau Ceti by the [[{{Precursors}} Orokin]] to terraform and prepare the system for settlement. Having worked hard for generations to make a home for themselves, and remembering how the Orokin [[AbusivePrecursors trashed their own system and the horrific abuses they laid on their subjects]], the Sentients decided to return to the Origin System to conquer it and [[KillEmAll scour it of life]].

* VideoGame/''Warframe'': Though a fairly far future scifi setting, most of everything is confined to the Origin System[[note]]Our good ol' Solar System[[/note]] at some long but indefinite point after the rise, long reign, and fall of the [[{{Precursors} Orokin Empire]] that ruled the Origin system. One of the rarer enemy factions are the enigmatic and alien Sentients, who's Old War was instrumental in the fall of the Orokin Empire. The Sentients (barely) survived the Old War due to a number of competing plots, but are coming out of stasis and are on the rebound. As more is slowly revealed about them, we eventually learn the Sentients are [[LivingMachines pseudo-biological robots]] sent to Tau Ceti by the Orokin, to terraform and prepare the place for settlement. Having worked hard for generations to make a home for themselves, and remembering how the Orokin [[AbusivePrecursors trashed their own system and the horrific abuses they laid on their subjects]], the Sentients decided that their home was worth fighting for, and returned to the Origin system to conquer it and [[KillEmAll scour it of life]].

** Arcturus is home to a wide variety of megafaunal animals all named "Arcturan Mega[Earth animal]", such as Arcturan Megadonkeys, Arcturan Megacamels and Arcturan Megaleeches, in addition to being the home port of Arcturan Megafreighters.

* ''Literature/{{Worldwar}}'': [[TheReptilians The Race]] is from the second planet in the Tau Ceti system. They have previously conquered the Rabotevs (from Epsilon Eridani II) and the Hallessi (from Epsilon Indi I).

* ''Literature/TheJupiterTheft'': The Cygnans originated on a world that orbited Cygnus X-1 before it collapsed into a black hole, and one of the alien species in their zoo comes from 61 Cygni, the Cygnans last port of call before they reached the Solar System.

* In ''Literature/{{Worldwar}}'', the [[TheReptilians Race]] is from the second planet in the Tau Ceti system. They have previously conquered the Rabotevs (from Epsilon Eridani II) and the Hallessi (from Epsilon Indi I).

[[folder:Videogames]]

[[folder:Videogames]]

# '''Betelgeuse''', one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye - if it were in the Sun's location, its surface would stretch all the way to ''Jupiter''. Another candidate expected to go supernova within the next million years. It is 640 light-years away.