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In the fictional Star Trek universe, a Sector is an area of space, usually designated by a series of numbers to indicate its location in the galaxy. Star Trek collectively refers to a science-fiction franchise spanning six unique television series, 726 episodes and ten feature films in addition to hundreds of novels, computer and video games, fan stories and other works of fiction all set within the same fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry in the...
Overview of Galactic Sectors
The United Federation of Planets (UFP) set up the current sector designation system sometime in the 24th Century. Before that time, the sector designation system was very unorganized. As more areas of space were explored, another sector was added on, and built around Federation space like bricks and mortar. Sectors were numbered in the order that they were explored and as the UFP gained more territory, this numbering system became inefficient and confusing. In the Star Trek fictional universe, the United Federation of Planets (UFP) – widely referred to and known amongst fans as merely the Federation – is a federal state of more than 150 member planets and thousands of colonies. ...
At the same time, many sectors were improperly referred to as "quadrants" which added to the confusion of what defined a sector as opposed to what defined a quadrant. A good example is Quadrant 904 which under the conventional system would indicate it as the 904th "sector" explored by the UFP. Quadrant 904 is an area of space in the fictional Star Trek universe. ...
The first sector to be explored was the space around Earth, which was named the Sol Sector and numerically designated as Sector 001. After that the Alpha Centauri Sector was explored, which became Sector 002, and then the Terra Nova Sector which became Sector 003, and so on. Earth is the third planet from the Sun. ...
Standards Of Learning SOL stands for The Standards Of Learning. ...
It has been suggested that Proxima Centauri be merged into this article or section. ...
Terra Nova is a planet in the fictional Star Trek universe. ...
Regardless of its official designation, the Sol Sector is still proudly known as "Sector 001" to many, because it signifies it as part of mankind's first steps into space.
To better understand the current sector designation system used by the UFP, one must be shown how the Milky Way Galaxy was divided up. The Milky Way (a translation of the Latin Via Lactea, in turn derived from the Greek Galaxia Kuklos; or simply the Galaxy) is a barred spiral galaxy in the Local Group, and has special significance to humanity as the location of the solar system, which is located near the Orion...
Quadrants
 The Quadrants of the Galaxy. First, the Galaxy is divided into four main Quadrants. Looking down at the Galaxy from the top side, each quadrant cuts the galaxy into four equal slices, each a 90ยบ triangle with a rounded outer edge that angle inward to meet at the galactic core. These quadrants are designated with Greek letters as Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. Image File history File links Image created by User:Cyberia23. ...
Image File history File links Image created by User:Cyberia23. ...
In the fictional Star Trek series, the Milky Way Galaxy is divided into four quadrants, which are further subdivided into sectors. ...
The Galactic Center is the rotational center of the Milky Way galaxy. ...
Alpha (uppercase Α, lowercase α) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. ...
Beta (upper case Β, lower case β) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. ...
Gamma (upper case Γ, lower case γ) is the 3rd letter of the Greek alphabet. ...
For other uses, see Delta. ...
If the galactic disk were pictured as the face of a clock; moving clockwise and starting with the 6 o'clock position; the Alpha Quadrant would begin at 6 and end at the 9 o'clock position. The Gamma Quadrant starts at 9 and ends at the 12 o'clock position. The Delta Quadrant starts at 12 and ends at the 3 o'clock position, and finally the Beta Quadrant starts at 3 and ends at the 6 o'clock position. A wall clock A clock (from the Latin cloca, bell) is an instrument for measuring time. ...
Planet Earth is the capital of the UFP, and is located in the Sol System. Sol is a star in the middle of the Orion Arm of the galaxy. The UFP put the Sol system right at the border between the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, however, the UFP considers Sol to be in the Alpha Quadrant. Observed structure of the Milky Ways spiral arms The Orion Arm or Local Arm (labeled 0) is a minor, spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. ...
Sub-Quadrants Each quadrant is divided up into Sub-Quadrants. Like spokes of a wheel, with the galactic core at the hub, sub-quadrants radiate outward and divide the galaxy into 36 narrow slices. The Milky Way is approximately 100,000 light years in diameter, so each sub-quad is 50,000 ly long which is the distance measured from the center of the galactic core to the outer edge of the galaxy. They are 3,200 ly in height, and approximately 8,727 ly wide at their widest point at the galaxy's edge. Image File history File linksMetadata STSectorSubQuads. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata STSectorSubQuads. ...
A light year, abbreviated ly, is the distance light travels in one year: roughly 9. ...
Sub-quads are designated by either a single number or a single letter, starting with 0 through 9, and then becoming the letters A through Z. Each quadrant contains 9 of the sub-quads. The Alpha Quadrant contains sub-quads 1 though 9. The Gamma Quadrant contains sub-quads A though I. The Delta Quadrant contains sub-quads J though R, and finally, The Beta Quadrant contains sub-quads S though Z and also sub-quadrant zero.
Sector Zones Each sub-quad is further divided by Sector Zones. There are 10 sector zones, spaced 5,000 light years (ly) apart from each other that go around the galaxy as circles. They are numbered 0 through 9. Starting at the galactic core is sector zone zero, and ending at the edge of the galaxy is sector zone 9. When the circular sector zone cross a sub-quad they create a cube of space called a Sector Grid that is roughly 5,000 ly long and 3,200 ly high. The width of a sector zone varies. They are smallest at the core and get wider as they taper outward to the galactic edge. Image File history File linksMetadata STSectorZones. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata STSectorZones. ...
Sector Grids The cubes created by the intersecting of sub-quads and zones are called Sector Grids. All sector grids are 5,000 ly long, and 3,200 ly high. The widest grids are approximately 8,727 ly wide at the galactic edge and their width gets smaller the closer they are to the galactic core. Near the Sol system, the sector grid would be about 4,500 ly wide. There are 10 sector grid cubes in a line within each sub-quadrant. Image File history File linksMetadata STSectorGrid. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata STSectorGrid. ...
Sector Grids are designated first by the Sub-quadrant and then the Sector Zone intersection that form it.
- For example, the sector grid that lies in Sub-quadrant E and in Sector Zone 6 would be Sector Grid: E6 and it would lie in the Gamma Quadrant.
- Sector Grid:56 for example, which is in the Alpha Quadrant, is in Sub-Quadrant 5 and Sector Zone 6. In the case of numbers, the correct designation would be called out as "Sector Grid: Five Six" (not fifty-six).
Sector Quads A sector grid is further divided into 100 Sector Quads of equal volume. (not to be confused with the four main quadrants). Sector Quads are numbered 00 through 99. A sector quad is a 1,000 ly long, and 800 ly high. They are about 900 ly wide near the UFP. They get wider at the galactic edge and thinner nearer the core.
Sector Blocks A sector quad is then further divided into 1000 Sector Blocks. Near the UFP, sector blocks are 100 lys long and about 100 ly wide with a height of exactly 80 ly. Sector blocks are numbered 000 through 999. Sector blocks are laid out in a 9 X 10 X 10 grid cube, so the resulting sectors are close to perfect 20 ly cubes as possible.
Sectors A sector block is divided down into 100 individual Sectors, the smallest and final division of space the UFP uses. A sector is an almost perfect cube of space that is 20 light years to a side. At this scale of the galaxy's immense size, the slight curvature of the sector is practically invisible. The sectors are numbered 00 through 99.
Typically, a sector contains about 40 star systems. Two thirds of these stars are either in binary, trinary or quadrinary systems. In dense globular clusters however, a sector may contain several thousand stars, and in the void between the spiral arms of the galaxy, a sector could contain no stars at all.
The Sector Identification System
 Completed Layout of Sub-Quads and Zones Sectors are identified by four sets of numbers that represent the grid, quad, and block the sector is located in, and finally the number of the sector itself. Image File history File linksMetadata STSectorQandZ.jpg Summary Image file created for Sector (Star Trek) by Cyberia23. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata STSectorQandZ.jpg Summary Image file created for Sector (Star Trek) by Cyberia23. ...
- For example: The sector designated Y6-45-055-14; is Sector 14, located in Sector Block 55, in Sector Quad 45, in Sector Grid Y6. Because it is in the "Y" Sub-Quadrant it would be located within the Beta Quadrant.
Since a majority of explored sectors of the galaxy are located close to the UFP's borders, the Sector Grid designation (such as "Y6", using the example) is usually omitted. It is also not uncommon for a sector to be referred only by its last five digits (055-14) or even just the last two digits: "Sector 14" as most local inhabitants would indicate. Given the numbering system, last two digits will always be unique for a distance of about 80 ly.
The location of a particular star system would finally be designated by the star's X, Y and Z axis coordinates. An imaginary Cartesian plane would occupy the center of the sector with the star's position designated with planar coordinate numbers. A system with coordinates "0,0,0" would be at the exact center of the Sector. Cartesian means relating to the French mathematician and philosopher Descartes, who, among other things, worked to merge algebra and Euclidean geometry. ...
Starship Navigation Federation starships, as well as most vessels built by other interstellar races, utilize a device called the "Celestial Compass" for navigation. This system is mainly comprised of sophisticated software that is actually part of the ship's computer core and accesses a large database of star chart information which has to be updated constantly. The system processes information gathered by navigational sensor arrays mounted on the ship's outer hull. Those arrays get position information either from the thousands of subspace navigational bouys and also signals from pulsars, which by themselves are natural beacons that continually broadcast radio signal "pings" through space. By triangulating these signals, from either bouys or pulsars, a ship's compass can accurately determine its location among the stars. Source: Star Trek: Star Charts, by Geoffrey Mandell, and The Star Trek Encyclopedia, by Denise Okuda. This article is about the vehicle for interstellar travel. ...
Composite Optical/X-ray image of the Crab Nebula pulsar, showing surrounding nebular gases stirred by the pulsars magnetic field and radiation. ...
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