Bajoran Wormhole Discovery

Lore & Background

Starfleet Commander Benjamin Sisko and Lieutenant Jadzia Dax are the first people to make contact with the wormhole's mysterious creators, who dwell inside it. Though these incorporeal beings are simply referred to as "wormhole aliens" by the Federation, they are revered as Prophets in the Bajoran religion, and the wormhole itself is referred to as the "Celestial Temple". It is these "Prophets" who provided the Orb-like energy artifacts (or "Tears of the Prophets") to the Bajorans, and these mystical artifacts are the basis of Bajoran religion. Via one of the Orbs, the wormhole is closed by one of the Pah Wraiths, malevolent non-corporeal beings who are enemies of the Prophets. The wormhole is later restored via an additional Orb discovered by Sisko, who is prophesied to be the Prophets' Emissary.

In Their Own Story

The wormhole's discovery reshaped the politics of the Alpha Quadrant. The station Deep Space Nine was moved from Bajor's orbit to a position 15 kilometres from the wormhole, acting as a gateway. The wormhole's inhabitants, the Prophets, are non-corporeal beings who exist outside of linear time. They provided the Bajorans with Orbs, which are the basis of Bajoran religion. Later, the Pah Wraiths—malevolent enemies of the Prophets—closed the wormhole using one of the Orbs. The wormhole was restored when Sisko discovered an additional Orb.

Reader's Guide

The Bajoran wormhole is discovered in the first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It connects the Bajor-B'Hava'el system in the Alpha Quadrant to the Idran system in the Gamma Quadrant, a distance of seventy thousand light-years. The wormhole can only be traversed at impulse (sub-light) speeds. The Deep Space Nine station was moved from Bajor's orbit and repositioned 15 kilometres from the wormhole to act as a gateway. The wormhole's creators are incorporeal beings called "wormhole aliens" by the Federation, but the Bajorans revere them as Prophets and call the wormhole the "Celestial Temple". The Prophets provided the Bajorans with Orb-like artifacts called "Tears of the Prophets", which are the basis of Bajoran religion. The wormhole was later closed by a Pah Wraith using one of the Orbs, but restored via an additional Orb discovered by Sisko, who is prophesied to be the Prophets' Emissary.

Did You Know?

• The wormhole is located within 160,000,000 kilometres (1.1 au) of the planet Bajor.
• The wormhole connects the Alpha Quadrant to the Gamma Quadrant, a distance of seventy thousand light-years.
• The wormhole can only be traversed by ships traveling at impulse (sub-light speed) velocities.
• The wormhole's inhabitants are referred to as 'wormhole aliens' by the Federation, but as 'Prophets' in the Bajoran religion.
• The wormhole was closed by a Pah Wraith using one of the Orbs, and later restored via an additional Orb discovered by Sisko.