ESSAYS FROM THE LATINUM CARPET
Ó TeamJaguar 1998-2006
On the Calculation of Stardates David E. Klingman, USS Jaguar NCC-74750 David Blaser, USS Hadfield NCC-75020
The calculation of stardates has presented somewhat of a dilemma for both the writer and the reader who seeks to understand just how stardates are determined. Our goal here is to determine and develop a reproducible method for the calculation of stardates.
In order to do this, we have worked to create a stardate 'calculator' for your enjoyment and use in writing 'TNG-era' fiction, which can be found at http://blaser.tzo.com/stardates/
On average, the calculation of stardates from the original series [2266-2269] appears to have progressed at a rate of approximately 57 units per episode [see Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future] with 1 unit corresponding to approximately 24 hours [or about 365 units per calendar year]. This general method of calculation worked well for those years up to the 2290s . Doing the math would have suggested that the stardates would have rolled over to a 5-digit system by about 2290. Of course, this was not the case, and we know that 2293 [the year the Klingon moon Praxis explodes and USS Enterprise NCC-1701B begins its mission] corresponds to a stardate of 9520-9525. From this, we can determine that from the period 2266-2293 [27 years] there passed about 8000 stardate units, corresponding to approximately 300 stardate units per year [presumably this takes into effect time dilation during faster than light travel, properties of local space, and oscillation of systems around the galactic plane and rotation of the galaxy around its center].
Were this system to remain in place, then Star Trek: The Next Generation year 1 [2364] would have corresponded to a stardate of 30825 [plus or minus]. In fact, the stardates in 2364 correspond to a range of 41000-41999, and so we must either account for approximately a 10000 unit lapse [33 years by the old system, 10 years by the new system] or accept the fact that at some point, a recalculation of stardate units occurred.
'Modern era' Star Trek [i.e. The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager] adhere to the 1000 unit per year - each year in the physical 'Gregorian' calendar corresponds to 1000 stardate units.
Working backwards from Star Trek: The Next Generation 'Year 1' [2364, 41000-41999] we can determine that stardate '00000' would have occurred in 2323. Was there some event in 2323 perhaps that resulted in some 'galactic calendar year' or a decision to recalibrate? Other than Jean Luc Picard entering Starfleet Academy in 2323 [certainly not worthy of recalibrating stardates] there is no special reason that 2323 should have been a banner year for this.
Still, it has been established, and from this point forward, stardates have progressed at a rate of 1000 units per year.
The question then is 'what constitutes a year' in the Star Trek universe? We work under the premise that there are 365.25 days in the Earth calendar year [which helps take into account leap years every 4 years, no extra days in February].
A little math can be done which leaves us with the notion that there are 2.737850787 stardate units per day [24 hours] 1000/365.25 = 2.737850787 A little more math can be done which leaves us with the notion that there are 0.1140771161 stardate units per hour 2.737850787/24 = 0.1140771161
We work, therefore, under the following notions: - there are 1000 stardate units per year, corresponding to 365.25 calendar days - any passage of time as a fraction of a year simply corresponds to a fraction of that full year's 1000 stardate units - stardate '00000' corresponds to the year 2323, so that the stardates remain consistent with Star Trek: The Next Generation and following series
This only works for those years after 2323!
41000-41999 therefore corresponds to 2364 Star Trek: The Next Generation spans 41000-47999 [2364-2370] Star Trek: Deep Space Nine spans 46000-52999 [2369-2375] Star Trek: Voyager spans 48000-54999 [2371-2377]
These stardate ranges form the basis for the determination of specific stardates for fiction currently set in the year 2388 [stardate 65000-65999], a full decade after the USS Voyager events.
How then are stardates calculated for years *prior* to 2323? We were mulling over this dilemma for an evening in Starfleet's Internet Relay Chat and we found no pattern to the determination of Stardates prior to 2323, but as we explored further, we determined the following:
· There is approximately a 30-year span between TOS and 2323 [Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country takes place in 2293] · Star Trek: TOS [from Season 1, 2266 to Undiscovered Country, 2293] spans approximately 30 years · Star Trek: TOS Season 1 [2266] begins with Stardate 1512.2 and includes mention of an earlier stardate, 1329.8 [or 5 years prior dating according to the stardate system employed at the time, putting Stardate 0000 in the year 2261, which according to The Star Trek Chronology is the end of Christopher Pike's second tour as Captain of USS Enterprise] · Working backward from TOS Season 1, we have determined that there are 100 unaccounted years in the history of the United Federation of Planets [it seems to us that beginning the stardate system in 2161, with the founding of the United Federation of Planets, makes the most sense
The theory we present [a working model only, this is by no means canonical] follows:
Prior to 2323, stardates are run on 'cycles' - 4 cycles of 25 years between 2161 and 2260, 2 cycles of 30+ years between 2261 and 2322 [presumably there are some time dilation effects to account for the first 33-year cycle], and after 2323, the 'modern' dating system of 1000 stardate units per year is adopted: Period 1 [2161-2185], Stardate 0000.0-9999.9 Period 2 [2186-2210], Stardate 0000.0-9999.9 Period 3 [2211-2235], Stardate 0000.0-9999.9 Period 4 [2236-2260], Stardate 0000.0-9999.9 Period 5 [2261-2293], Stardate 0000.0-9999.9 Period 6 [2294-2322], Stardate 0000.0-9999.9 Period 7 [2323- ], Stardate 00000.0-
[It is interesting to note that under the 'modern' system, stardates will roll over to a 6-digit system in the year 2423]
While we realize that this is confusing and does not allow the reader to distinguish between Stardate 1500 in the 2260s and Stardate 1500 in the 2160s [for example], we nevertheless suggest this 'recycling' of stardates simply to give some guideline for these periods. The truth is that stardates are an imperfect system and this is our 'best guess' at how to calculate them.
Star Trek of course has never been so precise in its stardate calculations, since most episodic events occur over days or weeks in between.
More specific writing has in many cases taken place over mere minutes or hours, and for this reason, there has been a need to develop a more precise stardate system. It has been determined that a 4 decimal place system is sufficient for day to day activities, and this is the system that is in place for our fiction.
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