Changes: Light year

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A light year (abbreviated ly) was a unit of measurement used for establishing distance from one location to another in space. One light year described the distance light traveled in a vacuum in one Earth year. The length of this unit was standardized by the UFP Standards Measurement Bureau. Other spacefaring species, such as the Sheliak, had their own unit of distance. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before"; TNG: "The Ensigns of Command")

Examples

Located less than twenty light years from the Sol system, Terra Nova became the first extrasolar colony of Earth in 2078. (ENT: "Terra Nova")

The planet housing the Vulcan monastery at P'Jem was, according to the Vulcan star charts, just a few light years off of the current heading of Enterprise NX-01. (ENT: "The Andorian Incident")

In May 2151, Enterprise found the Triglobulin harvester's starship almost three light years away from the nearest star system. (ENT: "Fight or Flight")

In February 2152, Captain Jonathan Archer told Keyla that Risa was located ninety light years from Sol and was the furthest any of his people had gone at that point. (ENT: "Two Days and Two Nights")

In September 2152, Enterprise was in orbit of an uninhabited planet. At this time the ship was over one-hundred light years away from Earth and more than twenty light years away from the Takret homeworld. It encountered a neutronic wave front which spans more than half a dozen light years. (ENT: "The Catwalk")

Later that year, Enterprise discovered what would be determined to be a 31st century Earth vessel. At that point, Enterprise was a hundred light years from Earth and more than thirty light years from the nearest trade route with no other ships or ships or inhabited star systems for several light years, making the matter of the initially unidentified craft and its Human pilot a mystery. (ENT: "Future Tense")

When the computer identified the numerical sequence sent by the Borg into the Delta Quadrant in 2153, it became pulsar frequencies with geometric light year measurements. (ENT: "Regeneration")

In the Treaty of Armens (2255), it was stipulated, "Third party assistance may be requested from a Federation Starfleet vessel or a Sheliak Corporate spacecraft if the distance from the vessel to the respective homeworld is greater than five thousand (5.0e3×10³) light years. UFP Standards Measurement Bureau Units. Assistance may also be requested if the vessel is less than 1,000 light years from a standard UFP subspace relay booster station." (TNG: "The Ensigns of Command")

Eagle-12, containing a Federation space station, and Gamma Hydra, home to an Andorian colony, were respectively located three and six light years away from a binary star system at the edge of Federation space. As such, they were considered vulnerable to Klingon attack should the USS Shenzhou fail to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff with the Sarcophagus prior to the Battle of the Binary Stars. (DIS: "The Vulcan Hello")

In 2256, the USS Glenn, using an experimental spore drive, managed to travel back and forth into the Beta Quadrant, a ninety light year jump, in 1.3 seconds. (DIS: "Context Is for Kings")

In 2293, the USS Enterprise-B, having just left Earth Spacedock, was three light years away from the transport ships SS Robert Fox and SS Lakul when they were caught up in the Nexus, making the Enterprise the closest Starfleet ship to mount a rescue. (Star Trek Generations)

In 2364, the USS Enterprise-D was hurled 2,700,000 light years, through two galaxies, to the Triangulum Galaxy by the Traveler during warp field tests. In an attempt to return to their last position, the Enterprise was again brought forward over a billion light years to the end of the universe, the furthest point reached by a Starfleet vessel. Ultimately, however, the Traveler was able to reverse the course and return Enterprise back to where it started. (TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before")

In 2365, Q propelled the Enterprise seven thousand light years to System J-25, and back again following their first contact with the Borg. (TNG: "Q Who")

When Commander Benjamin Sisko welcomed the first guest from the Gamma Quadrant in the Alpha Quadrant, a Tosk, he told him that he traveled almost ninety thousand light years through the wormhole. (DS9: "Captive Pursuit")

In 2369, a Vanoben transport was raided two light years away from Deep Space 9. (DS9: "Vortex")

The same year, Sisko told Kai Opaka that the Gamma Quadrant is seventy thousand light years away from Bajor. (DS9: "Battle Lines")

The Caretaker's array was capable of generating a displacement wave capable of dragging ships many light years across the Milky Way Galaxy, doing so in 2371 when it swept the Maquis ship Val Jean and the USS Voyager over seventy thousand light years from the Badlands to its position in the Delta Quadrant. (VOY: "Caretaker")

Quark recalled that he was serving on a Ferengi freighter hundreds of light years from Ferenginar when the Great Monetary Collapse hit. (DS9: "Homefront")

In 2373, the USS Defiant was transporting the Orb of Time back to Bajor when Arne Darvin used it to transport the Defiant back in time to the year 2268 over two hundred light years from their last position, where they found the USS Enterprise in orbit of Deep Space Station K-7. (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")

Travelling from 2373 to 2063, Captain Jean-Luc Picard characterized the United Federation of Planets to Lily Sloane as consisting of over one-hundred fifty member worlds spread across eight thousand light years. (Star Trek: First Contact)

In 2374, as her final gift to the Voyager crew, Kes propelled the ship over nine thousand five hundred light years closer to Earth, eliminating ten years off the crew's journey. (VOY: "The Gift")

Later that year, Voyager discovered an ancient relay network spanning across the galaxy, which they used to locate and contact the USS Prometheus, a Starfleet vessel on the edge of the Alpha Quadrant over 60,000 light years away. (VOY: "Message in a Bottle")

The Hirogen pursued a member of Species 8472 across fifty light years. A group of Hirogen ships pursued the prey to Voyager's position; with the nearest ship half a light year away, Chakotay predicted that Voyager would be intercepted within four hours maximum. (VOY: "Prey")

Voyager spent a month crossing a nebula which spanned one hundred ten light years. (VOY: "One")

At the end of that year, Voyager used a quantum slipstream drive to travel three hundred light years before it collapsed. Several months later, the crew revisited this technology and were able to travel another ten thousand light years before the slipstream dispersed. The technology was deemed too dangerous for use after this occurrence and was dismantled. (VOY: "Hope and Fear", "Timeless")

"The Void" was a region in the Delta Quadrant where no star systems existed within a distance of two thousand five hundred light years which could be passed in an instant via a spatial vortex, which was used by Voyager in early 2375. (VOY: "Night")

In 2378, Voyager Captain Kathryn Janeway credited the feat of making more first contacts than any other Federation starship since the era of James T. Kirk and the original USS Enterprise to being "the only Federation starship within thirty thousand light years." (VOY: "Friendship One")

Later that year, Sphere 634, containing Voyager, passed through a transwarp conduit and arrived less than a light year from Earth. (VOY: "Endgame")

In the 26th century of a possible future presented to Jonathan Archer by temporal agent Daniels, the Battle of Procyon V was fought amid a trans-dimensional disturbance created by the Sphere Builders that extended fifty thousand light years in all directions and growing. (ENT: "Azati Prime")

Appendices

Background information

The light year is the distance that light travels in one Earth year. It is approximately equal to 9.46e12×10¹² kilometers, or 5.88e12×10¹² miles.The exact length of a light year depends on the exact length used for one "Earth year". The IAU uses a Julian year of 365.25 days, while other sources may use a Gregorian year of 365.2425 days, or another year altogether.

According to Michael Okuda, the location between Earth and Vulcan, sixteen light years, are ninety-three trillion miles. ("The Andorian Incident", text commentary, ENT Season 1 DVD special feature)

Source	year (days)	light year (kilometers)	light year (miles)
IAU	365.25	9,460,730,472,581	5,878,625,373,184
Gregorian	365.2425	9,460,536,207,068	5,878,504,662,190

External link

Light year at Wikipedia

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-One '''light year''' (abbreviated '''ly''') was a unit of measurement used for establishing distance from one location to another in [[space]]. The length of this unit was standardized by the [[Federation Standards Measurement Bureau|UFP Standards Measurement Bureau]]. Other spacefaring species, such as the [[Sheliak]], had their own unit of distance. ({{TOS|Where No Man Has Gone Before}}; {{TNG|The Ensigns of Command}})
+A '''light year''' (abbreviated '''ly''') was a unit of measurement used for establishing distance from one location to another in [[space]]. One light year described the distance light traveled in a vacuum in one [[Earth]] [[year]]. The length of this unit was standardized by the [[Federation Standards Measurement Bureau|UFP Standards Measurement Bureau]]. Other spacefaring species, such as the [[Sheliak]], had their own unit of distance. ({{TOS|Where No Man Has Gone Before}}; {{TNG|The Ensigns of Command}})
 == Examples ==
 Located less than twenty light years from the [[Sol system]], [[Terra Nova]] became the first extrasolar [[colony]] of [[Earth]] in [[2078]]. ({{ENT|Terra Nova}})
+[[Vulcan monastery planet|The planet]] housing the [[Vulcan]] [[monastery]] at [[P'Jem]] was, according to the [[Vulcan star charts]], just a few light years off of the current [[heading]] of {{EnterpriseNX}}. ({{ENT|The Andorian Incident}})
-In [[May]] [[2151]], {{EnterpriseNX}} found the [[Unnamed Alpha and Beta Quadrant starships (22nd century)#Triglobulin harvester's starship|Triglobulin harvester's starship]] almost three light years away from the nearest [[star system]]. ({{ENT|Fight or Flight}})
+In [[May]] [[2151]], ''Enterprise'' found the [[Unnamed Alpha and Beta Quadrant starships (22nd century)#Triglobulin harvester's starship|Triglobulin harvester's starship]] almost three light years away from the nearest [[star system]]. ({{ENT|Fight or Flight}})
-In [[February]] [[2152]], [[Captain]] [[Jonathan Archer]] told [[Keyla Terrana]] that [[Risa]] was located ninety light years from [[Sol]] and was the furthest any of [[human|his people]] had gone at that point. ({{ENT|Two Days and Two Nights}})
+In [[February]] [[2152]], {{dis|Captain|rank}} [[Jonathan Archer]] told [[Keyla]] that [[Risa]] was located ninety light years from [[Sol]] and was the furthest any of [[human|his people]] had gone at that point. ({{ENT|Two Days and Two Nights}})
 In [[September]] 2152, ''Enterprise'' was in [[orbit]] of an [[Unnamed Alpha and Beta Quadrant planets#Binary system planet|uninhabited planet]]. At this time the ship was over one-hundred light years away from Earth and more than twenty light years away from the [[Takret homeworld]]. It encountered a [[neutronic wave front]] which spans more than half a dozen light years. ({{ENT|The Catwalk}})
-Later that year, ''Enterprise'' discovered what would be determined to be a [[31st century]] [[Time travel pod (31st century)|time travel pod]]. At that point, ''Enterprise'' was a hundred light years from [[Earth]] and more than thirty light years from the nearest [[trade route]] with no other ships or ships or inhabited star systems for several light years, making the matter of the initially unidentified craft and its [[human]] [[Human 31st century corpse|pilot]] a mystery. ({{ENT|Future Tense}})
+Later that year, ''Enterprise'' discovered what would be determined to be a [[31st century]] {{dis|Earth vessel|31st century}}. At that point, ''Enterprise'' was a hundred light years from [[Earth]] and more than thirty light years from the nearest [[trade route]] with no other ships or ships or inhabited star systems for several light years, making the matter of the initially unidentified craft and its [[Human]] [[Human 31st century corpse|pilot]] a mystery. ({{ENT|Future Tense}})
 When the computer identified the [[numerical sequence]] sent by the [[Borg]] into the [[Delta Quadrant]] in [[2153]], it became [[pulsar frequency|pulsar frequencies]] with [[geometry|geometric]] light year measurements. ({{ENT|Regeneration}})
 In the [[Treaty of Armens]] ([[2255]]), it was stipulated, "''Third party assistance may be requested from a Federation Starfleet vessel or a [[Sheliak Corporate]] [[spacecraft]] if the distance from the vessel to the respective [[homeworld]] is greater than five thousand (5.0{{exp|3}}) light years. UFP Standards Measurement Bureau Units. Assistance may also be requested if the vessel is less than 1,000 light years from a standard UFP [[subspace relay station|subspace relay booster station]].''" ({{TNG|The Ensigns of Command}})
+[[Eagle-12]], containing a [[Federation]] [[space station]], and [[Gamma Hydra]], home to an [[Andorian]] [[colony]], were respectively located three and six light years away from a [[binary star system]] at the edge of Federation space. As such, they were considered vulnerable to [[Klingon]] attack should the {{USS|Shenzhou}} fail to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff with the ''[[Sarcophagus]]'' prior to the [[Battle of the Binary Stars]]. ({{DIS|The Vulcan Hello}})
 In [[2256]], the {{USS|Glenn}}, using an experimental [[spore drive]], managed to travel back and forth into the [[Beta Quadrant]], a ninety light year jump, in 1.3 [[second]]s. ({{DIS|Context Is for Kings}})
@@ Line 20: / Line 24: @@
 In [[2293]], the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-B|-B}}, having just left [[Earth Spacedock]], was three light years away from the [[transport ship]]s {{SS|Robert Fox}} and {{SS|Lakul}} when they were caught up in the [[Nexus]], making the ''Enterprise'' the closest [[Starfleet]] ship to mount a rescue. ({{film|7}})
+In [[2364]], the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} was hurled 2,700,000 light years, through two [[galaxy|galaxies]], to the [[Triangulum Galaxy]] by [[the Traveler]] during [[warp field]] tests. In an attempt to return to their last position, the ''Enterprise'' was again brought forward over a billion light years to the [[end of the universe]], the furthest point reached by a [[Starfleet]] vessel. Ultimately, however, the Traveler was able to reverse the course and return ''Enterprise'' back to where it started. ({{TNG|Where No One Has Gone Before}})
-In [[2365]], Q propelled the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} seven thousand light years to [[System J-25]], and back again following their [[first contact]] with the [[Borg]]. ({{TNG|Q Who}})
+In [[2365]], Q propelled the ''Enterprise'' seven thousand light years to [[System J-25]], and back again following their [[first contact]] with the [[Borg]]. ({{TNG|Q Who}})
 When [[Commander]] [[Benjamin Sisko]] welcomed the first guest from the [[Gamma Quadrant]] in the [[Alpha Quadrant]], a {{dis|Tosk|species}}, he told him that he traveled almost ninety thousand light years through the [[wormhole]]. ({{DS9|Captive Pursuit}})
@@ Line 30: / Line 36: @@
 The [[Caretaker's array]] was capable of generating a [[displacement wave]] capable of dragging ships many light years across the [[Milky Way Galaxy]], doing so in [[2371]] when it swept the [[Maquis]] ship ''[[Val Jean]]'' and the {{USS|Voyager}} over seventy thousand light years from the [[Badlands]] to its position in the [[Delta Quadrant]]. ({{VOY|Caretaker}})
-[[Quark]] recalled that he was serving on a [[Ferengi freighter]] hundreds of light years from [[Ferenginar]] when the [[Great Monetary Collapse]] hit. ({{DS9|Homefront}})
+[[Quark]] recalled that he was serving on a [[Quark's freighter 001|Ferengi freighter]] hundreds of light years from [[Ferenginar]] when the [[Great Monetary Collapse]] hit. ({{DS9|Homefront}})
 In [[2373]], the {{USS|Defiant|2370}} was transporting the [[Orb of Time]] back to [[Bajor]] when [[Arne Darvin]] used it to transport the ''Defiant'' [[time travel|back in time]] to the year [[2268]] over two hundred light years from their last position, where they found the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}} in orbit of [[Deep Space Station K-7]]. ({{DS9|Trials and Tribble-ations}})
-Travelling from 2373 to [[2063]], [[Captain]] [[Jean-Luc Picard]] characterized the [[United Federation of Planets]] to [[Lily Sloane]] as consisting of over one-hundred fifty [[Federation members|member worlds]] spread across eight thousand light years. ({{film|8}})
+Travelling from 2373 to [[2063]], {{dis|Captain|rank}} [[Jean-Luc Picard]] characterized the [[United Federation of Planets]] to [[Lily Sloane]] as consisting of over one-hundred fifty [[Federation members|member worlds]] spread across eight thousand light years. ({{film|8}})
 In [[2374]], as her final gift to the ''Voyager'' crew, [[Kes]] propelled the ship over nine thousand five hundred light years closer to Earth, eliminating ten years off the crew's journey. ({{VOY|The Gift}})
 Later that year, ''Voyager'' discovered an [[Hirogen communications network|ancient relay network]] spanning across the galaxy, which they used to locate and contact the {{USS|Prometheus|Prometheus class}}, a [[Starfleet]] vessel on the edge of the Alpha Quadrant over 60,000 light years away. ({{VOY|Message in a Bottle}})
+The [[Hirogen]] pursued a [[Species 8472 prey 001|member]] of [[Species 8472]] across fifty light years. A group of [[Hirogen ship]]s pursued the prey to ''Voyager's'' position; with the nearest ship half a light year away, [[Chakotay]] predicted that ''Voyager'' would be intercepted within four hours maximum. ({{VOY|Prey}})
+''Voyager'' spent a month crossing a [[Unnamed Delta Quadrant nebulae#Mutara class nebula (radioactive)|nebula]] which spanned one hundred ten light years. ({{VOY|One}})
 At the end of that year, ''Voyager'' used a [[quantum slipstream drive]] to travel three hundred light years before it collapsed. Several months later, the crew revisited this technology and were able to travel another ten thousand light years before the slipstream dispersed. The technology was deemed too dangerous for use after this occurrence and was dismantled. ({{VOY|Hope and Fear|Timeless}})
-"[[The Void]]" was a region in the Delta Quadrant where no [[star system]]s existed within a distance of two thousand five hundred light years which could be passed in an instant via a [[spatial vortex]], which was used by ''Voyager'' in early [[2375]]. ({{VOY|Night}})
+"{{dis|The Void|region}}" was a region in the Delta Quadrant where no [[star system]]s existed within a distance of two thousand five hundred light years which could be passed in an instant via a [[spatial vortex]], which was used by ''Voyager'' in early [[2375]]. ({{VOY|Night}})
-In [[2378]], ''Voyager'' [[Captain]] [[Kathryn Janeway]] credited the feat of making more [[first contact]]s than any other [[Federation]] starship since the era of [[James T. Kirk]] and the original {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}} to being "''the only Federation starship within thirty thousand light years.''" ({{VOY|Friendship One}})
+In [[2378]], ''Voyager'' {{dis|Captain|rank}} [[Kathryn Janeway]] credited the feat of making more [[first contact]]s than any other [[Federation]] starship since the era of [[James T. Kirk]] and the original {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}} to being "''the only Federation starship within thirty thousand light years.''" ({{VOY|Friendship One}})
 Later that year, [[Sphere 634]], containing ''Voyager'', passed through a [[transwarp conduit]] and arrived less than a light year from Earth. ({{VOY|Endgame}})
-In the [[26th century]] of a [[alternate timeline|possible future]] presented to Jonathan Archer by [[temporal agent]] [[Daniels]], the [[Battle of Procyon V]] was fought amid a [[trans-dimensional disturbance]] created by the [[Sphere Builder]]s that extended fifty thousand [[light year]]s in all directions and growing. ({{ENT|Azati Prime}})
+In the [[26th century]] of a [[alternate timeline|possible future]] presented to Jonathan Archer by [[temporal agent]] {{dis|Daniels|Crewman}}, the [[Battle of Procyon V]] was fought amid a [[trans-dimensional disturbance]] created by the [[Sphere Builder]]s that extended fifty thousand light years in all directions and growing. ({{ENT|Azati Prime}})
 == Appendices ==
@@ Line 59: / Line 69: @@
 === Background information ===
 The light year is the distance that [[light]] travels in one [[Earth]] [[year]]. It is approximately equal to 9.46{{exp|12}} [[kilometer]]s, or 5.88{{exp|12}} [[mile]]s.The exact length of a light year depends on the exact length used for one "Earth year". The {{w|International Astronomical Union|IAU}} uses a {{w|Julian year (astronomy)|Julian year}} of 365.25 days, while other sources may use a {{w|Gregorian calendar|Gregorian year}} of 365.2425 days, or another [[year]] altogether.
+According to [[Michael Okuda]], the location between [[Earth]] and {{dis|Vulcan|planet}}, sixteen light years, are ninety-three trillion miles. (''"The Andorian Incident", [[text commentary]], [[ENT Season 1 DVD]] special feature'')
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