Directions

Directions can be a confusing thing to a new spacer, so here's an explanation of how directions and zone numbers work in the Starmourn Sector.

Galactic Directions

The Milky Way Galaxy rotates continually, with its center referred to as the core, and its outer limits referred to as the rim. The Starmourn Sector's placement in the galaxy is such that the core and rim are located in relatively static directions. On navigational charts, these directions are labelled Coreward and Rimward, and appear in the conventional positions of North and South. The positions of East and West, then, are instead labelled Spinward and Antispinward, referring to the direction that the Milky Way rotates.

Galactic Direction Cardinal Direction
Coreward North
Rimward South
Spinward East
Antispinward West

Quadrants

The space within the Starmourn Sector can be divided into four quadrants, with each quadrant named for its relative direction to the center of the sector. These quadrants are sometimes referred to using conventional geographic directions.

Quadrant (Galactic Direction) Ordinal Direction
CA (Coreward/Antispinward) Northwest
CS (Coreward/Spinward) Northeast
RA (Rimward/Antispinward) Southwest
RS (Rimward/Spinward) Southeast

Zones and Subsectors

Each quadrant is then divided into a grid of zones, each of which is 250 by 250 subsector units.

Some zones are known by the primary star system within its boundaries; most are labeled according to quadrant. Some zones are grouped into subsectors, which usually comprises territory controlled by one faction or another (such as the Scatterhome Subsector or the Y'saari Subsector) - these are marked on the Starchart in various colors.

Co-ordinates

Sector coordinates also contain a number, such as CS-4138, which designates the location of the subsector independent of a particular quadrant. The first pair of numbers increases in value as one travels Spinward (East), and the second pair of numbers increases in value as one travels rimward (South), just like co-ordinates on the space map.

With our present knowledge of the Starmourn sector, the division between quadrants occurs between coordinates 40 and 41 on both axes, such that subsector 4040 is in the CA quadrant, while subsector 4141 is in the RS quadrant.