User:CrimsonTacit/Sandbox/Stellar Cartography

The milky way galaxy is divided into quadrants and sectors, of which there are many kinds of sub-divisions to help with navigation.

Standard Divisions

Galactic Quadrant

A galactic quadrant, often simply a "quadrant," is a cube of space that encompasses 50,000 light years by 50,000 light years, or one quarter of the galaxy, using the Sol system as zero degrees on the Y and X axis of this grid. The four galactic quadrants are labeled alpha, beta, gamma, and delta.

Sector

A sector is a cube of space 20 light-years along each side. Sectors have a numeric designation based on when that system was charted by Starfleet, but they are also often named after the most important system in that sector. For instance, Sector 001.

Sector Quadrant

A sector quadrant is a cube of space 10 light-years along each side that sub-divides a sector. Sector quadrants are labeled with a Latin letter, A, B, C, or D appended to the numeric designation of the sector they are a part of, for instance Sector Quadrant 001A.

"The only ship in the quadrant equipped to intercept the energy field is the Enterprise."

Sub-Sector

A sub-sector, sometimes called a section, is a cube of space 1 light-year along each side that sub-divides a sector quadrant. Sub-sectors are numbered 1 through 100 after their sector quadrant's designation, for instance, Sub-Sector 001A-47.

"Reliant now in our quadrant, this section, and closing."

Non-Standard Divisions

Sector Block

A sector block is a group of sectors that Starfleet has placed under a single chain of command to unify a particular area, often a frontier. This is useful when a region may touch many sectors but not encompass all of them, meaning that it's not practical to have a starbase for each of them or because an area is very important, both of which apply to the Deneb Sector.