What's the difference between known space & explored space?

[Shik]

No, seriously.

In the midst of revamping my writing with acceptable, semi-logical interstellar distances & volumetrics (which...don't even get me started...), I snagged myself on a semantic sandbar. The terms "known space" & "explored space" seem to be used interchangeably, but I don't feel they really are. In terms of exploration directives & knowledge ranges, they're different things, but I'm having difficulty setting down concrete definitions.

Currently, I'm leaning toward known space entailing all that's publicly accessible through knowledge; it may have been charted by subspace telescope or visited by probes, but the general layout is known. Explored space would be more detailed; actually visited by ships & crews, surveyed, plotted, mapped, all the bits sussed out. That seems a good layout...but.

Anyone care to opine?

 

[1001001]

This doesn't seem to have anything to do with Star Trek.

Is this Fan Fiction you're writing?

 

[Kor]

Known Space is that part of the galaxy inhabited by Kzinti, Pierson's Puppeteers, and Pak Protectors.

Kor

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Just because you know what's there, doesn't mean you've been there.

 

[Shik]

This doesn't seem to have anything to do with Star Trek.

Is this Fan Fiction you're writing?

After a fashion, but it has everything to do with Star Trek.

Look, in 2364 humanity had charted 11% of the galaxy, per "Where No One Has Gone Before", right? That's 5.016 trillion cubic light-years. By a year later in "The Dauphin", it's 19%, a total of 8.664 trilion ly³. That's....enormous. That CAN'T have been actually explored. So, the question remains as asked: what's the difference between known & explored space?

 

[Shik]

Just because you know what's there, doesn't mean you've been there.

That's sort of the premise I'm thinking, too...but I felt it valid enough to get other opinions. Like I said initially, the terms seem to be used rather interchangeably.

 

[trynda1701]

Currently, I'm leaning toward known space entailing all that's publicly accessible through knowledge; it may have been charted by subspace telescope or visited by probes, but the general layout is known. Explored space would be more detailed; actually visited by ships & crews, surveyed, plotted, mapped, all the bits sussed out. That seems a good layout...but.

That's actually a good description of the differences. You could extend 'known space' to include anything outside the Galaxy, based on what we know in real life! But your terminology about explored space being actually physically reached by starships for detailed exploration works.

 

[Shik]

That's actually a good description of the differences. You could extend 'known space' to include anything outside the Galaxy, based on what we know in real life! But your terminology about explored space being actually physically reached by starships for detailed exploration works.

If so, then that means exploration seems to go at an effective crawl (despite being some 2800 ly from Earth in "Farpoint", but...) & then implies less of a consolidated area of space & more of a webbing format. Hmm...

 

[trynda1701]

The problem with Trek cartography is trying to match it up with real life!

EDIT: Remember, before TNG, Starfleet had visited Deneb before the five year mission. McCoy had been to Deneb II I think it was, plus Deneb V was mentioned in the Animated Series as the venue of a Science conference. So, as you say, the expansion seems slow.

Plus sometimes, what is given as a simple fact, like the "11% of the Galaxy charted" line, is how it can be retconned by a simple line a season or so later (19%), perhaps without a writer considering how much of a volume increase that entails.

 

[Shik]

Dude, I don't even want to go INTO how incredibly wrong like EVERY. SINGLE. MAP. EVER. is. That's what started this whole problem.

But getting back to the initial question, a truck driver friend compared it to his work: he's developing a sense on the state of Connecticut, & he knows that it exists (known space), but his own personal knowledge of it extends primarily along the Interstate 84/95/395 corridors (explored space). The rest is all labeled "here there be cosmozoans".

 

[The Old Mixer]

he's developing a sense on the state of Connecticut, & he knows that it exists (known space), but his own personal knowledge of it extends primarily along the Interstate 84/95/395 corridors (explored space). The rest is all labeled "here there be

antique shops; bed & breakfasts

".

 

[CorporalClegg]

And Gilmores.

With the technology at hand, I suspect most starships--especially science ships--can chart a significant amount of space from any given center point. In fact, it's probably a good bet that there's a division within Starfleet whose sole purpose is to methodically travel the alpha recording stars, planets, and other celestial bodies.

Plus, each time a new race/system joins the Fed, they add their knowledge to the collective whole.

 

[Shik]

antique shops; bed & breakfasts

As well as farms, preppies, & summering New Yorkers. (Grew up in Litchfield/Fairfield Counties)

 

[Shik]

And Gilmores.

With the technology at hand, I suspect most starships--especially science ships--can chart a significant amount of space from any given center point. In fact, it's probably a good bet that there's a division within Starfleet whose sole purpose is to methodically travel the alpha recording stars, planets, and other celestial bodies.

Plus, each time a new race/system joins the Fed, they add their knowledge to the collective whole.

I figured that's pretty much what all the various Sciences divisions did with their follow-on missions in their wee flying sensors.

You're right about new races adding to the whole (& I address that re: why Cardassians are known to 22nd-century Vulcan but were a surprise when official first contact came in the 2330s), but I wonder if that stuff comes as unverified material. Just because the Aultons & the Crints said Heltch is there doesn't mean Starfleet wouldn't go see for themselves, right?

 

[Tim Thomason]

I figured that's pretty much what all the various Sciences divisions did with their follow-on missions in their wee flying sensors.

You're right about new races adding to the whole (& I address that re: why Cardassians are known to 22nd-century Vulcan but were a surprise when official first contact came in the 2330s), but I wonder if that stuff comes as unverified material. Just because the Aultons & the Crints said Heltch is there doesn't mean Starfleet wouldn't go see for themselves, right?

The difference between the line in WNOHGB and Dauphin could be simply due to different parameters. 11% has been officially explored by the Federation (or one of its member races throughout their respective histories), but about 19% has been unofficially explored by extrapolation from all Federation allies and contacts who have provided their information to Federation databanks.

With the addition of Dominion and USS Voyager info, they might have that latter number up to 22%.

 

[sojourner]

Might I suggest a third term? "Observed space" which would be limited to telescope/remote sensing data only. With "known space" being a subset of that and "explored space" a subset of known space.

 

[Timo]

Remember, before TNG, Starfleet had visited Deneb before the five year mission. McCoy had been to Deneb II I think it was, plus Deneb V was mentioned in the Animated Series as the venue of a Science conference. So, as you say, the expansion seems slow.

And should get slower by the year, for obvious reasons of geometry. "Distance from Earth" isn't a particularly useful parameter here.

In any case, it's nice how Deneb consistently is a well-visited location in both TOS, TAS and TNG. And apparently so crowded that Starfleet has trouble finding a piece of real estate on which to build an exploration support base.

The difference between the line in WNOHGB and Dauphin could be simply due to different parameters.

Or then a vast amount of data became available to the Federation shortly before "The Dauphin". This need not entail any recent exploration or observation as such - the data could have come in a king-sized memory crystal donated by the Vice Regent of the Ultimate Galactic Empire, that three-planet setup that had inherited it from their glorious forefathers who had stolen it from their inglorious but rich and powerful neighbors right before going extinct (there being some causality involved).

Regarding the original question, it doesn't appear that the term "known space" would be used by our heroes at all. That is, not even TAS "The Slaver Weapon" makes any use of it, and one would think it our last best hope for such a reference.

Indeed, the pair of words only pops up twice in all of Star Trek: in "Darkling" and "Distant Origin", both times used by aliens conceptually quite a bit different from humans and prone to poetic license.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Voth commando1]

I imagine it's the difference between having settled/studied it versus charted it's stars.

However in Trek I imagine telescopes and various techniques used for image resolution would be very advanced and sophisticated. Allowing for scientists to document world's great distances away.

If the technology was advanced enough you could have a space based telescope in the Alpha Quadrant charting Delta and Gamma Quadrant Stars. And Vice versa.

And by charted what exactly do we mean? We know the composition and number of the stars and worlds? Or we have thoroughly studied every rock and flora and fauna in the region and hence its completely charted.

Known might be as simple as we know it's there and have some idea what's within it.

I wonder if the Federation has telescope that could even reach other galaxies-perhaps even see the composition of their planets.

Though beaming down and personally exploring the space is a lot more exciting and rewarding than charting it from thousands of light years away.

 

[Timo]

However in Trek I imagine telescopes and various techniques used for image resolution would be very advanced and sophisticated. Allowing for scientists to document world's great distances away.

Remarkably, we know this isn't actually true.

That is, telescopes can no doubt see far into the galaxy, just like today. But realtime, faster-than-light telescopes explicitly cannot tell to Starfleet that star system L-370 or Ceti Alpha VI violently ceased to exist, not in realtime. A starship has to fly to point blank range to make such an observation.

Hence we face the question: if Alpha Kuppa Java III is known to have been Class M a thousand years ago by telescopic observation, but no starship has ascertained whether anybody lives there today (or even whether the planet still exists), is the planet part of "explored space" or not?

If the technology was advanced enough you could have a space based telescope in the Alpha Quadrant charting Delta and Gamma Quadrant Stars. And Vice versa.

And we know such telescopes exist: the one in TNG "Parallels" is used for realtime spying of Cardassia in one reality. But continuity is preserved with the assumption that such telescopes aren't particularly numerous, and that it would take more than the lifetime of the universe if the UFP tried to chart the Milky Way with those, star by star.

And by charted what exactly do we mean? We know the composition and number of the stars and worlds? Or we have thoroughly studied every rock and flora and fauna in the region and hence its completely charted.

Remarkably, our heroes probably do not care. After all, Spock can always provide the relevant charts and facts from standard orbit in real time, there being no reason to consult archived data which could well be outdated.

It is thus difficult to make a convincing argument for any given set of criteria being used when those claims of 11% and 19% are made, respectively. Our heroes themselves have no use for such criteria!

Known might be as simple as we know it's there and have some idea what's within it.

And then we get to the matter of resolution. Is Alpha Kuppa Java known if they don't know how many planets orbit it? Is the Argolis Cluster known if they don't know how many stars are inside it? Is the Andromeda Galaxy known?

I wonder if the Federation has telescope that could even reach other galaxies-perhaps even see the composition of their planets.

We have those today. Again, it's just a matter of resolution - and of time lag, since today we have not yet learned that Andromeda is in the process of exploding.

Though beaming down and personally exploring the space is a lot more exciting and rewarding than charting it from thousands of light years away.

Also, our heroes are space exploiters as much as they are space explorers. Knowing it is there is not all that impressive if you can't get at it...

Timo Saloiniemi

 

[Vandervecken]

Regarding the original question, it doesn't appear that the term "known space" would be used by our heroes at all. That is, not even TAS "The Slaver Weapon" makes any use of it, and one would think it our last best hope for such a reference.