Ba'ku (planet)

Ba'ku is an M-class planet in the Beta Quadrant. It is located in the Ba'ku system of Sector 441, within an area of space called the Briar Patch. The planet is home to the Ba'ku civilization, who founded their colony there in the 21st century. 

The planet was surrounded by a series of saturnine rings which produced a type of metaphasic radiation that had great rejuvenating effects and endowed the inhabitants with great longevity.

The Federation established a duck blind observation post on Ba'ku in 2375 as a joint operation with the Son'a. This led to what would become known as "the Ba'ku incident" or the "Dougherty scandal".

Despite this rocky start to relations, the planet became a Federation protectorate, and Starfleet established Outpost 40 in orbit. The outpost was soon succeeded by a much larger space station, Deep Space 12, and Ba'ku became a full-fledged Federation member world by 2378. (TNG : '; ; ')

History
Ba'ku was once home to a highly-advanced civilization who had long since disappeared by the 24th century, leaving only ruins behind. (TNG : )

Geology
High concentrations of kelbonite ore were present in the mountain ranges surrounding the Ba'ku village.