Charting Rules and Regulations

This page is an outline of the Charting Rules and Regulations of the Galactic Mapping Wikia, or GMW. Here you will find the rules of how to properly explore the galaxy and chart the locations of planets and stars you "discover." You will learn how to name stars and planets, what a sector is, what a stellar group is, and how to chart according to their quadrants. You will also learn the basic classifications of stars.

Exploring the Galaxy
Starting off just by inspecting the galactic map one might feel their coming task will be simple and creative satisfaction will come quickly, but just like with any other form of fulfilling satisfaction, you will have to work at this to understand it and use it to its potential.

Once one starts to realize that the galaxy is 100,000 lightyears in diameter (10 million lightyears2) and that each galactic sector is over 4,000 lightyears across and that, even at their furthest, on average stars are about 5 lightyears apart one can start to feel a little daunted. To solve this issue of incomprehensible space the galaxy has been broken down into more "bite-sized" pieces. The largest of these pieces is the galaxy as a whole, but the galaxy has been broken up into 1,456 sectors ⎯ with smaller, wedge-shaped sectors towards the galactic center and more square-shaped, larger sectors towards the galaxy's edge. Inside each sector are four quadrants. These galactic sectorial quadrants are broken up into 400 stellar groups,104 lightyears across. Each stellar group is split up into a grid of 400 squares, each about 5 lightyears (or 1.5 parsecs) across, to be able to interpret the map on a much more manageable scale.

Sectors
Sectors are the largest subsections of the galaxy. Each sector is a constant 4,166.67 lightyears long, but each sector ⎯ depending on which ring they belong to ⎯ varies in width ranging from 312.15 lightyears, towards the core, and 3,541.1 lightyears, towards the galaxy's rim.

Sectors are split up into 13 rings, labeled A-M, each spaced 4,166.67 lightyears from the last, radiating away from the galactic center. Each ring is split up into 112 wedges.

Sectorial Quadrants
Each sector is split up into four sectorial quadrants ⎯ numbered 1-4, galactic clockwise ⎯ each over 2,000 lightyears across. Each of these sectorial quadrants is split up into 400 stellar groups.

Stellar Groups
Stellar groups are the smallest of the galactic subsections, each about 104 lightyears across. Each group is split up into 400 zones or sections, like sectorial quadrants, but each is only about 5 lightyears across; they're mostly just for easier judgment of distance and more accurate coordinates.

The Z-Axis
You've probably noticed by now that we've only discussed our galaxy in 2 dimensions, as a flat plane, but as we all know, space is 3 dimensional. Since most of our explorers are charting the galaxy on a flat plane like a picture on a computer screen or on paper and given that 2 dimensional travel is easier for our terrestrial-bound brains to comprehend we have fixed the 3 dimensional issue rather simply. All that you need to do is chart the galaxy on a 2 dimensional plane, on the galactic central plane, a then add a 3 dimensional qualifier: "+" or "-" and a number. This simply states that a star on any given point of the galactic map is either a certain number of lightyears above or below the galactic plane. From 0 to 16,666.7 lightyears from the galactic core the average galactic thickness is 30,000 lightyears, from 16,666.7 to 33,333.4 lightyears the average galactic thickness is 10,000 lightyears, and from 33,333.4 to 50,000 the average galactic thickness is 3,000 lightyears. This will be better understood once you understand the stellar identification number process.

Stellar Identification Numbers
Each star will receive its own stellar ID number. This numeric code states the star's position on the galactic plane, its order of discovery, its inclination above or below the galactic plane, and its spectral classification.

This is an example of a stellar ID number: M85-2a+523.12G

The first section in the number is the star's sector: M85. This means it is located within the "M" ring on the galactic plane and inside the 85th wedge of the "M" ring, galactic clockwise. Next is the specific quadrant of the star's sector: 2 (The dash before the "2" is simply to separate the quadrant number from the sector number). It is important to remember that quadrants are always numbered in galactic clockwise order (Galactic North will be discussed later). The lowercase letter "a" shows that the star was the first to be "discovered" (or created by an explorer, if you prefer) in this sectorial quadrant. The number "+523.12" represents the star's inclination above the galactic plane. If the number had been "-523.12" it would represent that the star is 523 lightyears below the galactic plane instead of 523 lightyears above the galactic plane. Lastly, the uppercase letter "G" represents the star's spectral type. G-type stars are yellow-white. The earth's sun is a G-type star.

Using this numeric coding system the position and look of a star can easily be ascertained in a short amount of time.

To give a planet a designation code simply add a greek letter subsequent to the planet's position in the system to the end of the star's ID number. More on planets, moons, and other stellar bodies will be explained later.

Stellar Spectral Classifications
In the early 1900's, American astronomer Annie Jump Cannon classified over 500,000 stars using her specific system in which she gave each star a letter and number based on its color and luminosity. Here, at the GMW, we use a modified, simpler version of Jump Cannon's system primarily to understand just the color and general size of given stars. This system is as follows:
 * Type O: Blue Supergiant
 * Type B: Blue Giant
 * Type A: White/Bluish-White
 * Type F: White
 * Type G: Yellow
 * Type K: Yellow/Orangish
 * Type M: Red Giant/Red Supergiant
 * Type L: Red Dwarf

Galactic North
To keep our galactic map centered on the same angle for everyone a galactic north star has been designated to be aligned with the galactic center for proper orientation. That galactic north point is the star Judah (G1-1a+0G). The yellow star sits on the border between sectors G1 and G112, on the border between quadrants G1-1 and G1-4, and lays exactly even with the galactic plane. Its exact coordinates are G1-1a+0(-10,-10)(-10,-10)4.

Coordinates System
Each star, nebula, black hole, pulsar, planet, moon, and even lonely asteroid needs to be found by someone else at some point in their lives. Therefore, a coordinates system has been devised to allow precise locating of stellar bodies.

Stars
Let's start with stars, an example of which you've already seen: Judah, the galactic north star. You start with the sector: G1, and quadrant: 1. Then the star's specific letter, dictated by it's order of "discovery," in this case: "a." Then the star's inclination; since Judah's inclination is equal with the galactic plane it remains +0 (or -0, whichever you prefer). Now we use the star's stellar group number: (-10,-10). Remember, the x-axis is always first. Now we use the number within the stellar group: (-10,-10). Finally, we end with the quadrant number of the zone within the stellar group, in this case: 4.

Planets
Planet's are easy. Simply use the stars coordinates and add the planet's average inclination (in kilometers) and a greek letter subsequent to the planet's position in the system. For example, Hebron, the only planet habitable by humans in the Judah system is the sixth planet orbiting its sun therefore it receives the greek letter "zeta."

i.e. G1-1a+0(-10,-10)(-10,-10)4-12 zeta

However, gravity isn't always so neat and clean. If a planet has an elliptical orbit and trades positions in the system with one or more planets give the most massive planet the greek letter closer to the beginning of the alphabet, the second most massive the next, and so on. However, only use this out-of-order system for the planets' orbits the elliptically orbiting planet's path crosses. Another scenario where greek letters may be out of order is if two or more planets orbit each other while their center of mass orbits their star. In this case, again, give the most massive planet the greek letter closer to the beginning of the alphabet, then the second most massive, and so on for all of the planets caught in each other's gravity.

Moons
Moons are even easier than planets and follow mostly the same rules. Start with the moon orbiting closest to the host planet or planets and add a roman numeral to the end of that planet's coordinates. So David, the first moon of Hebron, would be G1-1a+0(-10,-10)(-10,-10)4-12 zeta I. If Hebron had, say, thirteen moons, the thirteenth moon would be designated G1-1a+0(-10,-10)(-10,-10)4-12 zeta XIII. If a moon has an elliptical orbit and trades positions in the system with one or more moons give the most massive moon the greek letter closer to the beginning of the alphabet, the second most massive the next, and so on. However, like planets, only use this out-of-order system for the moons' orbits the elliptically orbiting moon's path crosses. For moons orbiting moons designate the less massive moon (the moon orbiting the parent moon) a lowercase letter after its name: i.e. G1-1a+0(-10,-10)(-10,-10)4-zeta XIIIa.

Other
For nebulae, treat the center of it's mass like a star and give it coordinates just like a star, but place an uppercase "N" in the stellar classification slot of its identification number. For its discovery letter, follow the order of the stars in that quadrant.

Treat black holes the same way, by naming them like stars but placing an uppercase "H" in the stellar classification slot of its identification number. Same with pulsars, but use an uppercase "P" in the ID number. For both black holes' and pulsars' discovery letter, follow the order of the stars or nebulae in that quadrant.

Treat asteroids like planets, giving them their parent star's coordinates and adding their average inclination (in kilometers). However, instead of a greek letter, asteroids receive a discovery number in parentheses. So the first asteroid discovered in the Judah system would be named G1-1a+0(-10,-10)(-10,-10)4(1).