Hello again! Recently I commented on AndrewR's great map, and said that I would suggest some improvement/changes. However, after having been frightened by the idea to design a complete map for the last months, last week-end I decided: don't tell them, show them. So here is my first map that I hope can satisfy your interests as well as match with the offical docs.
My improvements: *The maps match with the most recent (of course only superficial) offical maps, e.g. the one in the ST S9 TM. That means that Cardassia is beyond the Western border of the Federation, and the Klingon and Romulan empires in the East. I tried to include also some of AndrewR's Ideas by placing the Cardassians, Romulans, Ferengi and Federation as near together as possible. Because my map is based on a 500-1000 ly Federation (greatest diameter so far: 750 ly), the distances to Earth (currently 125 ly) and the Klingon empire (200 ly, as said in [DS9] Trials and Tribble-ations) are not too big. You might suggest that this assumptions contradicts with the 8000 ly offical diameter, but Rick Sternbach himself thinks of an inner Federation perimeter of only 100-200 ly in diameter, with only a few colonies being thousand of ly away.
*As you might guess, my map is TO SCALE, so all distances included are as right as possible, and I didn't included completely unknown locations just for fun (as the homeworlds of the empires). Of course, I made a few assumptions and call these points "conjectural" (e.g. the Black Swarm, or SB 185 (said in Q Who to be nearest starbase from J-25, which is undoubtedly in the Beta quadrant)).
*Exclusively also a lot of real stars mentioned in Star Trek are included, not there calculated positions based on an angle and distance, but their REAL distances in three-dimensional space (so please don't try to measure any distances - I included some below in the pic in an info box). I take them directly from the real Milky-Way maps from the great Guide to the Galaxy - I will share them with you soon (expect them to be on my website already this week-end)!
*The nice-looking version has a very special feature: the real look of our local galactic neighbourhood, scaled to the displayed data on the map. So you can see how many stars could really in the Federation and the other empires.
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[This message has been edited by Chris (edited October 13, 1999).]
[This message has been edited by Chris (edited October 13, 1999).]
Posted by Chris on :
I forgot: if anyone is interested in creating over detailed maps based on offical and real data in a creative group (preliminary title: "Federation Galactic Survey Team"), a kind of Bernd's ASDB for cartography, please feel free to contact Bernd ( [email protected] ) or me ( [email protected] ), the only members so far.
[This message has been edited by Chris (edited October 13, 1999).]
Posted by Black Knight (Member # 134) on :
I really love all of this map stuff! Those maps are awesome Chris! I'm sure some guys in this forum would be happy to assist you in your project.
*psst* one last thing... I can't find earth on your map...
Who knows, maybe I'm just blind. ------------------ Photon torpedoes, once a finite supply, haven't been a problem since all those Wal-Marts opened up in the Delta Quadrant. -Jim Wright
[This message has been edited by Black Knight (edited October 13, 1999).]
Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :
That's probably the best map I have seen so far, the one with the least inconsistencies.
First of all, it seems we can totally forget the 10000LY or 8000LY diameter, no matter if we assume a compact territory or a Sternbachian "outer perimeter". 1000LY is the upper limit, if we scale all the distances down so that 1) real stars are all in range, Rigel being the farthest star by far. 2) the stories are credible with regard to starship speeds which are much better documented than distances.
There are some weak points, though.
1) 250LY diameter is not that much for the Federation core. We have already calculated that there could be hundreds of planet systems even in such a small region, but this was under the very optimistic assumption that there are lots of Class M worlds.
2) The outer or southern region of the Federation would be mostly void then. There seem to be no planets that ever played a role in TNG or DS9. The Klingon and Romulan empires, for instance, are closer. So how can the Federation govern this territory that is practically beyond its reach?
3) I already discussed with Chris that I don't like the DMZ north to Cardassia at all. It's all so crammed in the Bajor sector. However, the on-screen chart leaves no other choice, and Cardassia seems to be the outermost planet of the Cardassian Empire.
4) The Ferengi problem: Their homeworld is not much more than 100LY away (a few days), still, they were not known prior to 2364, while the Federation knew places up to 2000LY (Mintaka) away and the Fed territory extends up to Rigel (900LY).
5) Everyone's talking about "The Alpha Quadrant" in DS9. Actually, half of the known planets is in the Beta Quadrant.
The map solves many more problems than arise, though
Your alpha-beta border seems to be off. If we assume it goes from the center of the galaxy through Sol, it should be like this.
------------------ "It'd be a pity if every pencil on Earth suddenly collapsed in on itself and blew everything up." -Krenim, TNO chat, September 30, 1999
Posted by Michael Dracon (Member # 4) on :
Where EXACTLY are we on that map TSN?? I know that Altair (Gee, where have I seen that before) and Deneb are very close together, when you look at the stars on earth. So earth should be somewhere below-right.
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Posted by Basill on :
TSN I don't see anything wrong with the Alpha/Beta border. It goes right through the Sol system just like yours (assuming that unlabled star is Sol). What exactly do you see that is off? I take it your map is a standard view of the Galaxy's plain from above. Your Rigel seems to be on the wrong side though. The constellation of Orion and all of its line of sight "contents" are in the Beta quadrant. At 900 light years distance, it might be a little too close as well. Deneb (1600 ly distant) seems to be a little close as well but I am not exactly sure at the moment where it lies in relation to the Galactic plain, so it may be safe. Can someone verify? I like your inset scales though. Just some thoughts.
------------------ Just a thought...A grain of salt-season to taste-lather, rinse, repeat
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Yes, the unlabelled star in the center is Sol. Actually, the XY plane of my map is that of zero degrees declination, so it isn't the galactic plane. However, I'm fairly certain that the alpha-beta border is right...
------------------ "It'd be a pity if every pencil on Earth suddenly collapsed in on itself and blew everything up." -Krenim, TNO chat, September 30, 1999
S9 TM. That means that Cardassia is beyond the Western border of the Federation, and the Klingon and Romulan empires in the East. I tried to include also some of AndrewR's Ideas by placing the Cardassians, Romulans, Ferengi and Federation as near together as possible.
I'm sure some guys in this forum would be happy to assist you in your project.
