HD 49368 is an S-class giant star, a type where the slow neutron-capture process has produced enough heavy elements that the stars display a strong zirconium oxide band in their spectra. This particular star is 8.2 billion years old, about twice as massive as Sol with 175 times the radius. As a result, it dominates the horizon of its three nearest planets.

The first two planets were nicknamed Obolus and Danake in 3302 by CMDR Erimus Kamzel. Danake was used as the first base camp during the Distant Stars Expedition of early 3303. The third planet orbits the barycenter of the two ringed worlds.

Ships attempting to land on these worlds in 3303 required heatsink launchers. Kamzel demonstrated one such planetary approach in October of that year: Hades Edge video. Today, ships with exceptional thermal profiles, such as the Dolphin or the Mandalay, can make a safe landing without needing to dump heatsinks. However, surface temperatures over 800 K will quickly dissuade any visitors from setting out on foot for more than a few seconds.

HD 49368 also contains two class Y brown dwarf stars, three helium-rich gas giants, and an assortment of rocky planets and moons. Body 4 a orbits within about 500 km of its parent gas giant's outer ring, allowing for an impressive view of the rocky ring from the moon's poles.