A depiction of the Milky Way Galaxy as seen in the Astrometrics Lab aboard Voyager.
- If you are looking for information about the area that is used for stellar cartography, see Stellar Cartography department
Stellar cartography is the science and practice of making maps and projections of space. The United Federation of Planets and other starfaring cultures have various different systems to organize and catalogue space and objects in space.
United Federation of Planets et al.
The most widely used cartography system is based on older Earth and Vulcan systems, and perhaps even older. It divides the galaxy into quadrants and sectors, and also uses coordinates to describe specific points in space.
Quadrants
The galaxy is divided into four major quadrants, defined by one meridian passing through the galactic core and the Sol System and a second one perpendicular to the first, that also passes through the galactic core.
The United Federation of Planets and its neighbouring powers are located in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.
Some smaller sections of the galaxy are historically referred to as a quadrants as well. Examples of these smaller quadrants are:
Sectors
A sector map.
A sector is a much smaller volume of space. Sectors typically contain several stars. Most sectors are numbered, and some have been named after an important star system in that sector.
- According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual and the Star Trek Star Charts, a sector is 20x20x20 light-years in size. This, however, is not entirely consistent with all on-screen data.
Borg Collective
The Borg Collective implements a strictly numerical system to designate regions of space.
The largest known Borg spatial subdivision is the matrix. A matrix is subdivided into grids. One grid can be further divided into several octants, which are numbered and sometimes given an alphabetical suffix (such as octant 22-theta). Specific objects like galactic clusters are also numbered by the Borg.
- It is possible that the term unimatrix is a spatial subdivision that is even larger than a matrix
Stellar Charts
General
- List of clusters (category)
- List of planets (category)
- List of nebulae (category)
- Inhabited planets
- Uninhabited planets
- Homeworlds
- Stars and stellar bodies
- Astronomical objects
Federation space
Klingon space
Romulan space
Cardassian space
Dominion space
Various locations
- Planets in the Delphic Expanse