Galactic Mapping > Routes > Through the Galactic Bar and back to Colonia

Galactic Bar (Region)

The inner galactic core; home to a wealth of scientific discoveries, including the supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. The sheer number of star systems compacted within the galactic bar bathe all its worlds in a perpetual twilight, and makes route plotting a challenge.

Current models of the galaxy suggest that the galactic bar is actually a sort of standing density wave, reshaping the orbits of the inner stars of the galaxy and creating a mechanism to channel gas into the core, fueling star births. Models also suggest that the bar is transitory, coming and going throughout the life of the galaxy every few billion years, forming a sort of galactic heartbeat.

Along the edges of the galatic bar flows immense streams of shocked interstellar gas, giving rise to the Near and Far 3kpc Arms - also known as the 'inner arms'. This perimeter of shocked interstellar gas is also what defines the boundary of the Galactic Core Regions - or simply, 'the galactic core'.

Eastern Neutron Fields (Region)

The Greater Galactic Neutron Fields are located above and below the galactic plane. The fields extends over such vast areas that they overlap with several other galactic regions.

In March 3301 the first reports of a vast region containing an immensely high density of Neutron stars reached colonized space via deep space explorers returning from the Galactic Core regions. Subsequently the Greater Galactic Neutron Fields have become a hotbed of activity for explorers, and the scientific community (who pay handsomely for any data brought back to Universal Cartographics). In June 3301 CMDR Kancro Vantas conducted an in-depth survey of the neutron fields and published a Definitive Guide on their whereabouts and their physical distribution throughout the core regions.

Perseus Stem (Region)

An enormous expanse of stars approx. 20,000 LYs wide and 5,000 LYs across, on the far side of the galactic core. The region is where the Perseus spiral arm emerges from the far edge of the galactic bar.

Orio-Persean Conflux (Region)

The conflux is a vast area characterised by turbulences in the interstellar medium due to the gravitational interactions between the Orion-Cygnus and Perseus arms as they come together - or rather, as they branch apart.

The name "conflux" is thus technically a misnomer, as the galactic spiral arms are not like rivers flowing together, but rather caused by density waves generated by the galactic bar at the core and propagating outwards. Despite this, the name remains popular among deep-space explorers as it invokes the image of a turbulence prone area. The turbulences are much too small to be noticeable during ordinary spaceflight, but on an cosmological timescale they have profound effects on star formation in the area. One prominent example of this are the Segnao Starburst clusters - these may be found in the northern parts of the Conflux.

In the Conflux is also found the blue supergiant 13 Mu Sagittarii, which has long drawn the attention of individual explorers as well as those taking part in the Sagittarius-Carina Mission.

Far 3kpc Arm (Region)

Located on the far side of the center of the galaxy, the Far 3kpc Arm stretches from one end of the Galactic Bar to the other. Star density is very high here, making route plotting difficult. It is also a region rich in nebulae.

Along with the Near 3kpc Arm, the counterpart 'inner arms' form a simple symmetry around the galactic center. These semi-elliptic arms are defined by shocked interstellar gas flowing along both sides of the galactic bar. This feature makes the inner arms esentially different structures than the spiral arms of the galaxy, since the spiral arms are not caused by an actual flow of materials but rather by density waves in the interstellar medium.

This perimeter of shocked interstellar gas is also what defines the boundary of the Galactic Core Regions - or simply, 'the galactic core'.

# System Coordinates Distance
#1 Colonia (Jaques Station / Colonia (System) / Animula Spires / The Mosta-Murdoch Raceway) -9530.5 / -910.28125 / 19808.125
#2 Eor Free GR-W e1-1826 (Nebulosa Portuguesa) -7599.46875 / 258.65625 / 19753.90625 2,257.93 Ly
#3 Dryaa Pruae BG-X d1-1087 (Fleur-de-Lis Nebula) -2516.53125 / -966.15625 / 20884.71875 5,349.31 Ly
#4 GRS 1730-312 1216.8125 / 366.34375 / 20961.5 3,964.76 Ly
#5 Great Annihilator (Great Annihilator Black Hole) 354.84375 / -42.4375 / 22997.21875 2,248.16 Ly
#6 Sagittarius A* 25.21875 / -20.90625 / 25899.96875 2,921.48 Ly
#7 XTE J1748-288 -306.59375 / -100.8125 / 25997.96875 355.09 Ly
#8 Juenoi AA-A h23 (Herülf's Warhammer) -4565.0625 / -1044.21875 / 26008.09375 4,361.73 Ly
#9 Wepae EG-Y g1024 (Triple Ripple) -6292.3125 / -753.3125 / 23967.34375 2,689.36 Ly
#10 Wepaa BA-A g1712 (Ammutseba) -9516.625 / -905.15625 / 23747.90625 3,235.34 Ly
#11 Wepaa FG-Y g1750 (Wings of Mercury) -9608.3125 / -882.875 / 23929.21875 204.39 Ly
#12 Wepaa FG-Y g35 (Ghadamon) -9626 / -946.96875 / 23934.40625 66.69 Ly
#13 Agnairt CL-Y g1280 (Maw of Kronos) -9947.6875 / -649.4375 / 22910.71875 1,113.53 Ly
#14 Screakai ES-A d14-135 (The Matryoshka Stars) -10925.15625 / 465.875 / 21897.03125 1,796.37 Ly
#15 Schieni CL-Y g2 (The Lensing Lighthouse) -11274.21875 / -1432.28125 / 21445.1875 1,982.17 Ly
#16 Oob Auf AA-A h1 (Mélimélo) -11083.75 / 2518.1875 / 20036.71875 4,198.36 Ly
#17 Eol Prou AA-A h162 (Tartarus) -9623.625 / -917.1875 / 19792.96875 3,740.75 Ly
#18 Colonia (Jaques Station / Colonia (System) / Animula Spires / The Mosta-Murdoch Raceway) -9530.5 / -910.28125 / 19808.125 94.60 Ly