Lit The Essential Atlas and Galactic Cartography: Official Discussion

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I did a couple attempts to line up the map with the regions with some questionable results. It's tough without being able to seen more on the lower right.


There's no way that the map in the show is at a galactic scale , otherwise Tython would be way outside the Core, much less the Dee Core. If it's a close up of the inner regions that also makes it tough without seeing more borders.

 

I think these map sectors should get a different meaning. They are neither galactic regions, nor sectors or anything but given they vary from source to source, they may be more temporary. Like highlighted areas depending on a selected quality differentiating the connected regions they encompass.

Between TOR, Galaxys Edge and Mando's versions of these, I think we may associate them more with something like thematic maps rather than geopolitical ones. Maybe one has to do with tax zones or otherwise travel-relevant distinctions, be it toll or otherwise. Or one of those signifies borders for which BoSS nodes and channels are required to recieve updated local data? Business maps hence? Hyperspace Weather Reports? Dangerzone indications based on natural and political trouble in regions reported to BoSS? Take your pick!

 

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Thanks everyone for the map still and Aurebesh deciphering. Between the D. Core note and L10 I think it's safe to say Tython is where it always was and to ignore the weird ORT reference.

 

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But is the fortress of Belia Darzu still there? That's the real question .

 

While the absent moons are no issue, probably behind the planet or destroyed by that point in the timeline, I still was a bit sad that the space around it had no much more dense starfield given we are in the Deep Core... had hoped for something like that

 

Have any story group members commented about it on twitter?
Matt seems to answer questions.

 

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It's probably a system map. It has to be if the red dot is the Razorcrest and the orange mark is Tython, because the planet is already visible from the cockpit at that point.

While we're on the topic of The Mandalorian, I'd like to propose a solution to what Peli Motto said when describing the Kol Iben System in Chapter 10.

There are three ways you can interpret this:
1. (Most likely) She was being dishonest with the first line to better sell the job to Din. She vouched for the frog lady, but later reveals she'd just met her. She claimed there was no catch to the job, but he can't use hyperspace. She said Dr. Mandible was on a Sabacc hot streak, but Peli actually had a winning hand. She said it's one system trailing, but it's really one sector over.
2. (Possible, probably not the writer's intention) What she said isn't actually contradictory. By "in the sector" she meant the grid coordinates R-16, and "one sector over" she meant just outside the Arkanis sector.
3. (Least likely, requires retcon) The second line was a flub they didn't catch in the edit and she actually meant to say "one system over". In this case, Kol Iben and Maldo Kreis share the same dot on the map as Tatooine and Geonosis.

Now, this is a bit tricky because Mando has to travel sublight to get there. Without handwaving the second line as her misspeaking, Kol Iben is going to be further away than we'd like it to be. But it also can't be too far. I propose Kol Iben sits in the Savareen sector, coordinates R-16, right at the left indent of the Arkanis sector. This is as close as you can get to Tatooine while satisfying both of the non-retconning options. It's not too much further than Hoth and Bespin are from each other.

 

I've been thinking about your comments for literally months now, and my personal canon map is finally complete enough to share. Here are all the layers exported as separate assets so you can make your own map however you wish.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mm1ZUQhVT1CJlt42W7Ai-syosZieC_gJ?usp=sharing

This is what it looks like put together:

Spoiler: Large Image

 

That's really cool! Great work!

 

@vstarvan Wow, seriously great work and a big thx from me! This is going to be very useful!

 

The High Republic Era Map from "The High Republic Adventures" by IDW!

"Something else cool about the High Republic Adventures run is each issue features a page of general info about the era: ships, weapons, Jedi stuff etc. Here’s an (incomplete) galactic map from issue 1, art by Harvey Tolibao" - Daniel José Older

 

Where are those locations actually placed? The names don't seem to be linked to any grid square in particular. Are Starlight and Hetzal the little star-shaped dots?

 

your guess is as good as mine, also there are numbers and letters in other dots. Map is as said unfinished!

 

Laid over the Essential Atlas map, the two are exactly the same. All the marks on the map are all the same marks in the EA, minus a missing few. Interestingly, Taris' marker is absent.
There's an asterisk(*) in H-19, presumably for Starlight Beacon, and another in Q-16, likely for Hetzal. Can't see anything for Trymant.

EDIT: There are also a couple new hyperlanes

 

Looking forward to get more details. I would have expected the map to be a bit more different from the "modern" map, more of the Outer Rim being Unknown/Wild Space, what with press releases stating it's a period of "expansion in the Outer Rim"

 

That map really makes me wonder where exactly this "era of expansion" is expanding to.
Hope we get some more information on that soon.

 

Holy crap that looks amazing. I love the colors, especially the distinction between the major hyperlanes.

 

I hope it largely overlaps with the Legends exploration occurring in the 1000-25 BBY timeframe (Essential Atlas page 120, purple areas), but with the exploration over that time frame concentrated in the 300-100 BBY span. Keep in mind that just because a system is mapped (dots on a map), doesn't mean it has been explored or settled. Starlight Beacon does appear to occur within the biggest chunk of frontier shown in the Atlas (West of the Western Reaches - which sounds like a dime novel). Trymant and Hetzal System cover the section of Atlas purple in the Trailing Sectors. Taris could maybe be a jumping off point for exploration of the New Territories.

 

Firstly, I'm pretty sure the map we see in Mandalorian was just made to look cool; I don't think the graphic designer(s) put any consideration into how it will impact/fit into the greater canon. But that won't stop me from trying!

In recreating the map, I learned that its segments aren't totally random in shape; they follow a circular grid. The large white parts, which I'm going to call segments, rest on the white grid made of 15-degree increments. The small black parts, which I'm going to call divisions, are half that at 7.5-degree increments, meaning they can lay on both the white grid and black sub-grid. The rigid nature of it reminds me of this:

So I think the map we've been seeing in Mandalorian is actually a sort of cartogram, which is why it doesn't seem to match up geographically with the other maps. Now the question becomes, what does a grid unit represent? What do the segments and divisions represent? Here's what we know so far:

Just from numbers, a grid unit could represent a sector, maybe, but I'm leaning towards no. I don't think it's something like population, or anything political. A metric that's subject to frequent change doesn't make for a good navigational map. It would make sense that a universal star map would have been developed early on in space travel, predating the Republic or even the Old Republic. My guess it's based on a natural property of the galaxy. Perhaps star density? That would explain why Tython seems so proportionally far from the core.

The number of white segments makes me think they could be oversectors; or if the map is actually ancient, the precursor to/basis for modern oversectors. But what they originally represented, I don't know.

I'm at a loss with the black divisions.

Those are my thoughts, I'd love to know what other people think it could be.

 

Great job with the figuring out the circular alignment. I definitely agree that the maps in the show don't seem to be representative of actual locations, at least not if it's at a galactic scale. Otherwise Tython is way too far from its Deep Core location. I'm open to the idea that it's actually a map of the center of the galaxy instead of the entire thing, but I think it's more likely that the person doing the graphics for the show just made something that looked like the other recent maps.

 

I thought that too, because if you center both maps and line up Tython with where it should be, the outer perimeter lines up perfectly with the colonies. The problem is that Razorcest uses the same map everywhere throughout the show, even for Outer Rim locations. Chapter 10 shows Tatooine on the outer part of the same map, so it can't just be the coreward regions. It's definitely an abstraction of the galaxy as a whole.

Again, I don't think this was the intention of whoever designed the map. They just needed something that looks cool. But I still think it's fun to come up with a way of making it work. Plus it could help with extrapolating where other worlds like Sorgan and Corvus would be on a regular map.

 

I don't know if this is the right place to put this, and if it isn't I apologize. That being said, I have attempted to map out the Tatoo System.
Please note that I haven't played Star Wars Galaxies so some of the locations are me speculating. I'm unsure if the game has more detail or not.
I also didn't include the Tatooine Star Fortress from The Old Republic as that was destroyed thousands of years before the films. *shrugs*

Spoiler for size.

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Tatoo I, Tatoo II

-Tatooine
--Station-Star 1
--Tatooine Space Station
--Ghomrassen
--Guermessa
--Chenini

-Ghost Tide Nebula

-Dragon's Spine
--Jabba's Star
--Iron Planet

-Ohann
--"Moon 1"
--"Moon 2"
--"Moon 3"

-Adriana
--"Moon 1"
--"Moon 2"
---"Moon 3"
---"Moon 4"

There is also apparently a Rebel Space Station in the system, but I have no idea where it might be in regards to the planets.

 

Now that is a REALLY, really good map, my friend.
One question however - have we yet sorted out the location of all the named spiral arms, from Legends? Specifically, Divis Arm, Etarue Arm, and South Arm? Maybe Indrexu Arm too (less clear, as to name significance)

Jason Fry, Paul Urquart (McEwok) and Dan Wallace may have further thoughts?
So far, I place the Divis arm as including Ambria, Yaga Minor and Klatooine, whilst the Etarue Arm has Dorin, Kashyyyk and Virgillia.
South Arm maybe has Ansion, Boz Pity, Utapau and Skye, perhaps?

 

Thanks for the confirmation. Also, I was meaning to ask, if anything had been confirmed, about the named spiral arms of the galaxy, for the Atlas?

 

I don't think the Atlas really addressed the spiral arms, though perhaps I'm misremembering? I'm not trying to brush off the point, just saying that for better or worse we didn't see defining them as a priority. I dimly recall that might have been because a "natural features of the galaxy" map would yield a single map without too much on it, which wasn't a great use of our page count.

I do recall that the Indrexu Spiral wasn't an arm but some other kind of space feature. A gravity well or somesuch.

One thing I do remember that folks might find interesting: My initial idea was that there should be gaps between the spiral arms, with the voids creating navigational difficulties and interesting "Here be dragons...." storytelling possibilities. Which wasn't a bad idea, but digging into the science indicated it wasn't so -- there isn't an absence of stars between the arms, just an absence of young blue stars and glowing nebulae that make the arms much more prominent visually. That's undoubtedly an oversimplification but I believe it's essentially correct.

So much for that idea. (You could of course note that science doesn't support the "briar patch" separating the Unknown Regions or, well, most of SW storytelling, which is correct, but why depart from the science *yet again* without a good reason.) I was a new author then; now I see other reasons that the voids wouldn't have been a good idea. It would have been something else for authors to keep track of or more likely forget about, introduce a logic hole for other stories to bridge ("Why didn't they just flee into the Void of X?") and generally be too big a recurring element to introduce in a reference book.

But stubbornly, I still think it was a cool idea.