New Montana

New Montana
Affiliation:	Federation
Location:	Alpha Centauri star system, Beta Quadrant

New Montana, also known as Alpha Centauri B II (or just Centauri B II), was a planet in the Alpha Centauri star system, in Federation space in the galaxy's Beta Quadrant. New Montana was the second planet in orbit of the star Alpha Centauri B. New Montana was Earth's first extrasolar colony. Zefram Cochrane, among its settlers, enjoyed naming the planet and many of its major geographical features. (TOS novel: Academy: Collision Course)

According to Cochrane, it took four years to build a self-sufficient farming community on the planet, which supported a fully-equipped continuum distortion research facility, which eventually became known as the Cochrane Foundation for the Study of Multiphysics. By 2078, the small colony was thriving, and Cochrane considered it his home. Micah Brack had helped fund the colony and the research facility, having convinced Cochrane that modern technology had made Earth too small, and that humanity's survival depended on "leaving the cradle." (ST novel: Federation)

Centauri B II had a single ocean, named the Welcoming Sea, which covered no more than ten percent of the planet's surface. The Landing Plains stretched down to the edge of the sea. Most of the planet's water came from underground reservoirs, resulting in low humidity. The planet also had a higher gravity than Earth, resulting in a "generation of weight-lifters" among the first children born in the colony. As they aged, especially approaching their fortieth birthdays, these children were prone to cardiac ailments and needed specialized medical care as their bodies fought against the heightened gravity. (ST novel: Federation)

As part of a trinary star system, the Centauri B II had multiple iterations of standard seasonal activity. Primary winter was when the planet was exposed to the light of a single sun, and temperate vegetation and flowers flourished on the plains. Natural wood was in short supply on the planet, as rigid trees had not evolved there. Early colonists planted forests of engineered Earth pines, both for fuel and cellulose production, a process which would take decades to come to fruition. (ST novel: Federation)

In the late winter of its Northern Hemisphere, the stars Centauri A and Centauri B rose together near dawn. The planet hosted the Cochrane Institute on the northern island continent of Atlantis. Lilly's Ocean and the Rockier Mountains could be seen from its campus. (TOS novel: Captain's Glory)