Omicron Ceti III
Omicron Ceti III is a Class M planet located in the third orbit of the Mira system.
The planet was once considered the perfect planet for an agricultural colony, as its soil will grow anything planted in it. The climate is moderate, having a small amount of rain all year round. Unfortunately, this perfection is marred by the fact that the planet is bombarded by berthold rays at such an intensity that any animal life could only survive for a week.
Multiple attempts were made to colonize the planet, but all failed as the berthold rays were not yet known to Federation science. The last attempt, the Omicron colony led by Elias Sandoval, made planetfall in 2264. This group was able to survive because of colony botanist Leila Kalomi's discovery of the pod plants and their mysterious spores, which protected the colonists from the berthold rays.
On stardate 3417 in 2267, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) arrived at the planet, following the discovery of berthold rays, to ascertain the exact fate of the colonists. Upon learning that the colonists were still alive, Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock were able to develop a method of freeing them from the influence of the spores. The colonists were evacuated to Starbase 27. (TOS: "This Side of Paradise")
- It is possible that a way was found to inhabit this planet in the 24th century, since the service record of Anaanda Ziff seen on screen in TNG: "Eye of the Beholder" listed Omicron Ceti III as her birthplace. However, that service record was part of an extended hallucination by Deanna Troi, and may thus not be entirely accurate.