Cyrannus: the Colonies' four suns

The Cyrannus star system was a group of four stars arranged in a double binary configuration, denoted Helios Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta, that held all of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Settled by the refugees who fled Kobol some two thousand years before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, it was the cradle of colonial civilization, encompassing worlds such as Caprica, Gemenon, Scorpia, Libran, and Canceron. The series itself never names the system; the name, the four stars and the figures on this page come from the official map of the Twelve Colonies published in 2010. (Battlestar Galactica: Map of the Twelve Colonies; Battlestar Galactica (miniseries))

Configuration#

The four stars of Cyrannus were arranged as two binary pairs. Helios Alpha and Helios Beta orbited each other at a distance of 63 SU from their barycenter, while Helios Gamma and Helios Delta orbited at 70 SU from theirs. Both binary systems in turn circled a common barycenter, separated from one another by 0.16 light-years, or 10,091 SU. The gas giant Ragnar followed a very unstable orbit, circling the Helios Gamma and Delta barycenter at a distance of 110 SU and periodically shifting between the two systems. (Battlestar Galactica: Map of the Twelve Colonies)

Helios Alpha#

Archaeological evidence confirmed that the first landfall in Cyrannus occurred around two thousand years before the Fall, on the planet Gemenon. Yet for most of recorded history Helios Alpha took a back seat to the richer and more populous worlds of Helios Beta. Until some two hundred years before the Fall, Picon and Tauron were colonies of Virgon and Leonis, but both gained independence by the time the first Colonial Government was formed with its capital on Caprica. Helios Alpha was a G2V-class main-sequence star and the largest in the system, with a mass of 1.0 Helios Units. Its worlds included Picon, Caprica, Gemenon, and Tauron. (Battlestar Galactica: Map of the Twelve Colonies)

Helios Beta#

Though Helios Alpha may have been the first system settled by the ancient Kobolians, for many centuries Helios Beta was the intellectual and commercial heart of the colonies. The great empires of the rival worlds Virgon and Leonis spread throughout Cyrannus and introduced many of the technologies, traditions, and cultural values that the colonies later shared. Helios Beta was a K1V-class main-sequence star with a mass of 0.79 Helios Units. Its worlds included Leonis, Virgon, and the gas giant Hera. (Battlestar Galactica: Map of the Twelve Colonies)

Helios Gamma#

During the long proxy war between Virgon and Leonis, Sagittaron was one of the key battlegrounds, occupied at times by both sides and its population exploited along with those of its two less populous neighbors. After the formation of the Colonial Government the system became a model of stability, due in no small part to the fleet based at Scorpia and the Inter-Colonial Court on Libran. Helios Gamma was a G9V-class main-sequence star with a mass of 0.89 Helios Units. Its worlds included Scorpia, Sagittaron, and Libran. (Battlestar Galactica: Map of the Twelve Colonies)

Helios Delta#

The last of the four systems to be settled, Helios Delta lay so remote that for hundreds of years it was largely ignored by the imperial powers of Helios Beta. Only in later years did the proximity of Canceron and Aerilon to the gas giant Ragnar prove a boon for manufacturing and military research, producing a system-wide technological revolution. Helios Delta was a K2V-class main-sequence star, the smallest in Cyrannus, with a mass of 0.74 Helios Units. Its worlds included Aerilon, Canceron, Aquaria, and the gas giant Ragnar. (Battlestar Galactica: Map of the Twelve Colonies)