Edge of Midnight Base Map - Work in Progress

[DEWLine]

A thing that's bothering me:

Dwight Williams 🇨🇦 (@dewline.bsky.social)

I was trying to rediscover this thread specifically, because of a question of stellar position over in Alpha Quadrant for an ongoing @tranquilitypress.bsky.social project, specifically @eomproject.bsky.social. The star that's tasking me? Mira AKA omicron Ceti... [contains quote post or other...

bsky.app

And here's where I'm at right now. The XY coordinates for the Star Charts/Stellar Cartography version are approximations, obviously. I am certain that people in high school tried to teach me the process of soiving such things and the name for that process, and I've forgotten both...

 

[CaptChris42]

If I can get a handle on Blender, I'd try my hand at that.

Meantime, I'm taking a look at adding in the Azlesa Expanse and several nebulae from Star Trek Online into the picture. An idea that's starting to take hold since last night is the idea that "Azlesa Expanse" is the popular Klingon name for what we're calling either Alessi 13 or the Chi-1 Fornacis Cluster (or is it a Moving Group?)...

Any thoughts on the matter?

Yeah, I like the thought of that.

Obviously visual comparison of STO nebulae with real ones will be a bit easier due to visual media.

Hyades meantime is a big place, and likely includes the Lembatta Cluster and several other mini nebulae or similar featurees in the general vicinity, in some overlap?

Meantime, how is the Etnap Nebula best defined so far...??

As a nod to Starfleet Command meantime, I sometimes like to place the Hydran Kingdom somewhere near Zeta or Epsilon Hydrae... perhaps as a now firmly annexed polity in the area...

 

[DEWLine]

Guessing that they don't call themselves "Hydrans"...

Update 19 Jan 2025:
I got help from Ken Burnside at Ad Astra Games to solve my Omicron Ceti Z-axis question!

 

[DEWLine]

Yesterday was devoted to harmonizing depictions of the Typhon Expanse between my Romulan and Cardassian/Dominion history base maps...

 

[DEWLine]

Trying to clear up my understanding of where Xahea and Kiley 279 ought to be. Will discuss further after supper tonight in my time zone. Probably by amending this reply.

Update 23 Feb 2025: I think I have better working candidates for those two stars now. Also, a better spot for Scalos.

Screen Shot 2025-02-23 at 7.26.12 PM by Dwight Williams, on Flickr

 

[DEWLine]

Some updating...
DominionWarBaseMap-12Mar2025 by Dwight Williams, on Flickr

RomulanZoneBaseMap-11Mar2025-A by Dwight Williams, on Flickr

The Romulan zone base map is being set up in concert with these fanfic projects:

From the Ashes

2025-04-22 So its been a little while? Sorry about that. But fear not, chapter three is now released ! As the Senate debates how to handle a terrifying new threat, Romulan internal politics will lead...

fallofromulus.weebly.com

In the Raptor's Claws: Earth, Romulus, and the War that Birthed the Federation

Part of the Earth-Romulan War Project

intheraptorsclaws.wordpress.com

The Cardassian/Dominion War base map might be useful to people submitting material to this fanfic project:

One Day In A Very Long Dominion War

“A Bad Day is a Bad Day to the End.” – Legate Damar, 10th March 2375. Stardate 52194 – the 15th of March 2375 – was just one day in the titanic galactic struggle that was the Domi…

tranquility.press

 

[publiusr]

What system of note is farthest from all others—a galactic pole of inaccessibility as it were…galactic core? Talos?

Systems off by themselves are the best places to hide something nasty.

 

[DEWLine]

Galactic Core is one such region, as we learned in TFF. Not sure that I'd count Talos as another. Not at the moment, anyway.

I'd say that the dimmer a star is, the better it is as a hiding place. Your opinions might vary.

 

[CaptChris42]

Galactic Core is one such region, as we learned in TFF. Not sure that I'd count Talos as another. Not at the moment, anyway.

I'd say that the dimmer a star is, the better it is as a hiding place. Your opinions might vary.

I've been working on collecting star charts, including to try to get more 3D and side views, and with the help of online widgets and other calculators, figuring out direct distances between multiple stars is now a lot more feasible - in terms of a straight line, etc.

Some systems are definitely widely spaced vertically - which can impact new novels like Picard: Firewall, with it's portrayal of the rimward Romulan Neutral Zone (ie, the distances between Hydrae stars and Dorado stars, etc, including Freecloud)

But I'm really loving this map so far. May be quite useful if I ever end up finally doing my long intended Cardassian War fanfiction too (circa 2358-63)

Extending the map even further south toward Tholian space someday would also be a great future project.
Perhaps adding less defined areas like Hekaras Corridor or Tyken's Rift in that same general direction (near Cait perhaps...?)

 

[DEWLine]

I've just started a map to focus on systems coreward of what I currently call the "Izar-Spica Line"...and I suspect there's a lot of adventures by a lot of crews we've never heard about in that neighbourhood.

 

[publiusr]

This may be of interest to you:

Deep Space and the Art of the Map | Centauri Dreams

The Orion’s Arm universe is cool.

The real thing:

What is Orion? - Cosmoquest Forum

Orion consists of stars at different distances. Bellatrix is far in the foreground, and Orion´s Belt and Sword far behind Rigel and Betelgeuse... Belt itself deep. I had read some mentions of Orion "Arm" and Orion "Spur"... and long naively thought that Orion is an arm seen end on. Recently I...

forum.cosmoquest.org

 

[DEWLine]

It is indeed of interest! Thank you kindly!