Lit The Essential Atlas and Galactic Cartography: Official Discussion

thx for altering the topic subject Quest

 

Quest: [-o|



cartographer: I know - and am in awe of - your work; I couldn't even hope to do something similar (and since you've done it so well, there's no need).

What I am thinking, though, is that if the plane-view BtM and CCW maps are accurate for scale (and they certainly match up tolerably with each other), we can (potentially) get a rough ly scaling for distances based on the fact that we know that Brentaal must be less than 5k ly from Cour... we can thus get maximum distances from Cour. to the other major worlds on BtM, and potentially plug in other 'scaled' maps to this matrix...

- The Imperial Ewok

 

well, wait for the next official map and major troubles until you do



TME: don´t forget our talk about the relative distance map character of the locations map. only distances to the core are correct, those to other planets are not, they are just grouped with planets close that are supposed to be close on the real map. but to create a scaled map, with correct distances, you could use the placements from navcomp, and modis version from a different viewpoint and try to match it with the core-planet distances from the locations map. then you might try to put over it some vectors or quadrants, vector prime, etc.
the quadrant lines from the locations map have been identified as major hyperlanes by me earlier, if you remember. so no exact planet to planet distances in this one. hope it helps

 

carty:

did you ever think about trying to do a sideview on the galaxy to show its heigth? I know we have no official maps depicting this, and nearly no information on planets heigths besides some calactic coordinates for some few, but it would be interesting to see the rishi maze above or below the galactic plane, the thickness of the deep core and core, and such things. though it would be mainly fanon and unofficial, it is something I miss with sw cartography. there was a rough sketch about the rishi maze location above the plane by cilghal or someone else I think in another topic.

 

CH: no, I know - I'm not talking about the ItW maps, which are just a headache; I'm talking about the old map from the Behind the Magic CD-ROM which is actually the basis for all the others since...

For all I know, though, it could be "not to scale"...

- The Imperial Ewok

 

I like the old map, though, it seems to be just a kid-map version now to show kids the basic planets or something like that.

but it seems to be very well scaled to me still. might be worth to check with navcomp. will do so when I have more time.

besides, there was a altered version of this map on the net with all the NJO maps planets in it. it was quite cool and predated even cartys map if I recall right. maybe I still have it somewhere. if anybody finds it first post it here please!

[image=http://www.mecha.com/~conkle/starwars/images/galaxymaphireswhite.gif]

it is like this one, just colors inverted black&white&yellow.

 

[image=http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/Star%20Wars/Star%20Wars.files/Star%20Wars%20galaxy.jpg]

I´ll post more fanmade and official maps if I find them online, or upload some myself from my huge map collection.


[image=http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/swg_future_galaxy.jpg] found on some sw galaxies board.

[image=http://www.prtc.net/~kylan/galaxy_map.jpg]

 

[image=http://216.119.98.205/swgrp/images/swg_universe_medium.jpg]

[image=http://www.maarasuniverse.com/wallpaper/SWGalaxy.jpg] found it, this one I meant earlier^^

 

[image=http://www.geocities.com/swgalaticmap/main.jpg]

interesting fanmade map featuring galactic vectors!

 

although not shown on the map, the text confirms Skor II is on the Rimma Trade Route, and i am pretty sure Skor II is Outer Rim, so that narrows it down.

Also, did Tibrin move or am i stupid?

i have had to drastically alter some of my wiki articles since this map finally placed some of the Thrawn Trilogy worlds. although my guess for Svivren was about right, my guesses for Pantolomin and neighbors were way off.

I have asked Dan for some info on planets mentioned but not shown. cross fingers!

does the Relgim Run cross the Hydian and Perlemian? Mantooine and Relgim are both on the Run. Mantooine is near Generis (not too far from Agamar), but Kwenn is down near Hutt Space.

 

cartographer:

Do you have any estimates on the location of Champala or Anx Minor? Both were pivotal battles at the end of the Galactic Civil War, and both were apparently in or near Remnant space. I have always been curious as to their location. (Unless they are already on the map and I missed them)

Also, what about Ord Pardron?

--Adm. Nick

 

Ord Pardron is supposed to be NR military HQ sorta for both Dufilvian and Abrion, which are far apart...


is Anx Minor the star Gravlex Med orbits?

 

I'm pretty sure Anx Minor is in the Gravlex Med system, or at least close.

 

well.. sure!

 

More galaxy basics -- some stuff about galactic structure....

In thumbnail form, a spiral galaxy consists of a flat disk of rotating stars, which revolves around a central, spherical bulge of tightly packed stars. A much larger sphere, known as the galactic halo, surrounds both the disk and the bulge.

While all of these galactic structures have specific properties and some interesting quirks, they are best understood by looking at what kind of stars they contain.

The Galactic Disk

The galactic disk is divided into three layers ? the thin disk and the thick disk, with the two layers of the thick disk surrounding the single layer of the thin like pieces of bread around meat in a sandwich.

Fully 96% of stars found in the galactic disk as a whole are found within the thin disk, which extends for about 1,000 light years on either side of the galactic plane, or ecliptic. These stars are generally metal-rich stars, as the thin disk is the hotbed of stellar evolution in the galaxy. Generally speaking, the younger a star is, the more likely it is to be found in the thin disk and the closer it will hew to the ecliptic. (Remember that the galaxy is three-dimensional, something even the best star map can?t capture.) The young, massive, hot supergiants -- Os and Bs ? are typically found within 300 light years of the ecliptic, a measurement known as scale height. As have a typical scale height of 600 light years, while the Gs, Ks and Ms check in with typical scale heights of 1,000 light years. (These older stars have generally been bumped up or down off the ecliptic by repeated interactions with interstellar dust and gas; most younger stars haven?t had time to budge from their birthplaces and will never get old enough to do so.)

Another extremely important component of the thin disk are clouds of interstellar gas and dust. Such gas and dust make up 5% to 10% of the thin disk?s mass and are mostly found in the spiral arms. Giant molecular clouds ? made up almost entirely of molecular hydrogen ? dot the arms in the thin disk; these clouds can weigh as much as 200,000 solar masses and be 150 light years across. The thickest clumps of those clouds collapse and form new stars ? the Milky Way?s Orion Nebula, a nursery of young stars, is part of just such a cloud. Interstellar gas and dust is typically within 500 light years of the ecliptic. Interestingly, such material extends about 80,000 light years in radius -- far beyond the domain of the stars -- and in the darkness beyond the galaxy?s starry rim, gravitational effects make the disk of dust and gas tip up like the brim of a hat.

Earth is found in a fairly typical thin-disk region: Within 12 light years of our solar system there are 19 other star systems. Seven of those systems are binaries and one is a triple-star system, making 29 stars total. Earth?s immediate stellar neighborhood is quite dull: mostly red dwarfs that are invisible from Earth, along with wisps of interstellar gas. (With the naked eye, perhaps 8,000 stars can be seen from Earth.) Moving a bit farther out, one finds a scattering of G-type stars and the occasional O or B supergiant. The most-interesting relatively close stellar phenomena to the Sun are the Hyades star cluster (about 175 light years away) and the Geminga pulsar (about 165 light years off). Such drab surroundings are typical and should do much to explain why Star Wars? sectors are big and contain hundreds upon hundreds of star systems that aren?t worthy of more than a single visit and never make the star maps.

While the thin disk is where the action is, it is surrounded by the thick disk, which contains about 4% of the galactic disk?s stars and extends to 3,500 light years on either side of the ecliptic. While some life would be found in such stars, such stars are less metal-rich and lack the interstellar gas and dust and young supergiants that are telltale signs of ongoing stellar evolution.

As one approaches the galactic center, the number of stars per cubic light year doubles every 10,000 light

 

I seriously doubt the Yuuzhan Vong came from a sattelite galaxy to the GFFA. Their journey through hyperspace is said to have taken thousands of years, meaning that they would have crossed billions of light years in order to reach the Galactic Republic's outer boundaries. In addition, the Rishi Maze is specifically stated to be a sattelite galaxy in decaying orbit around the Galactic Republic (it's one of the sattelite galaxies shown in the Jedi Temple Archives map in AOTC). If Kamino's just within reach of the Rishi Maze -- and it is most definitely beyond the Outer Rim, the Vong could have crossed to the GFFA in a few hours time instead of hundreds of years.

Also of note: I believe that it has been stated that the Galactic Republic is 120,000 light-years across. Kamino, located just beyond the outer edge, sits 70,000 light years away from the galactic centre.

 

Re the YZ, yeah, I wondered about that when I read it again before posting. I'm not sure when I put the galactic-basics document together, but it may well have been early in the NJO, before the extent of the Vong's travels was made clear.

As for numbers, there are lots of different ones -- I'll try to dig up the references at some point to see why I used what I used. At any rate, you can sub your own numbers in and adjust as needed -- structures, star-type percentages etc. should hold true regardless of which numbers you use.

 

All in all, I'd say Jason has said it best and most detailed too.

Now we just need an astrophysicist to help us with our 3-D maps.

 

Someone else I believe brought this up, and it's been bugging me too... the Thrawn Trilogy implied that Abrion and Dufilvian Sectors were adjacent, or at least close by, and that Ando was in one of these sectors. The NavComputer maps showed Abrion Sector around Rishi, and the new Visual Guide map seems to confirm this. I'm just curious if anyone has any EU information giving any other indication of Ukio's location (apart from the T3), or about Rishi being within the Abrion Sector.

 

We know about 3500 planets ( 3505 on the CUSWE list, 3444 in the Wookipedia )
600 star systems have got official placement on the galaxy maps. These star systems have got nearly 1000 planets ( I counted 1005. For example: Kamino system has 13 planets, Tapani Sector has got 88 ...)
It means, that 29% of the planets are placed on the official galaxy maps!

 

WOW.. great numbers.. I love numbers... but... 71% still missing.. LETS GO CARTOGRAPHING!

 

I've mentioned it to cartographer before but you guys should really collaborate and try to get some sort aoomable Google Earth-esque interactive galaxy map made- perhaps with overlays for routes taken during various stories or show what planets belonged to what factions at certain points in time.

 

Actually, LFL should do that. They should put it on a consumer version of the Holocron, all spiffed up with different Gatekeepers and such (Kyle Katarn for weapons, Sidious for Sith, etc.) Think of it as an uber-awesome Star Wars encyclopedia. Complete with original art, of course.

I think that every single one of us on these boards would buy it.