Burke was the designation of a comet orbiting Sol until the mid-22nd century. In 2147, Burke was redirected by the verteron array on Mars for impact on the planet's north pole as part of the terraforming project aimed at thickening the atmosphere in 2155. In that year, Jonathan Archer, captain of Enterprise NX-01, took advantage of Burke's approach to stop John Frederick Paxton, leader of the xenophobic terrorist group Terra Prime, from using the verteron array to destroy Starfleet Headquarters.