1.7 Local Space & Nearby Sectors

Top and cross-section views of the eight sectors nearest Sol explain Sol Sector's designation as Sector 001 and the convention placing the Sol system in the Alpha Quadrant.

Top view of the eight sectors nearest Sol, plotting Ophiucus (36 Ophiuchi), Tellar (61 Cygni), Sigma Draconis, Terra Nova (Eta Cassiopeiae), Sol, Alpha Centauri, Andoria (Procyon), and Vulcan (40 Eridani) across the Alpha/Beta Quadrant border, with an inset locating the region within the galaxy. Note: stars and star systems have been greatly enlarged for clarity; distances above and below the galactic plane are shown approximately to scale.

Cross-section (side) view through the Alpha/Beta Quadrant border showing the same eight nearby star systems—Sigma Draconis, Tellar (61 Cygni), Andoria (Procyon), Ophiucus (36 Ophiuchi), Terra Nova (Eta Cassiopeiae), Sol, Alpha Centauri, and Vulcan (40 Eridani)—positioned above and below the galactic plane within a 20-LY cube.

These two views show the eight sectors nearest to Sol, as seen from above the galactic plane as well as in a cross-section view through the Alpha/Beta Quadrant border. Each angle tells only part of the story: an observer might assume that 61 Cygni is the closest star to Sol from this side view, while the top view shows that it is actually some 11.36 light-years away.

By convention, Sol Sector is known as Sector 001; this designation has no relation to the overall sector designation system, but merely indicates that this was the first sector explored by manned space vessels. Nearby sectors are numbered in the order in which they were explored, beginning with Alpha Centauri Sector (Sector 002).

Although the Sol system is located in the exact corner of the sector (and is thus divided equally among all eight sectors), it is considered to be in Sector 001 for purposes of celestial navigation. Similarly, while the Sol system is divided equally between the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, it is considered to be part of the Alpha Quadrant.