Coordinates

Coordinates, also known as galactic coordinates or spatial coordinates, were a set of two, three or four numbers used to indicate the location of a star, a planet, an asteroid field or any other object or position in space. When setting a heading for a starship, the course was laid in to the destination coordinates at the helm console. 

A set of coordinates was also used to indicate a specific location on a planet or a planetoid. Surface or underground coordinates were used as transporter coordinates when beaming up from or down to a planet with the transporter. A set of two or three vector coordinates were used to determine a location. These coordinates could be automatically obtained by locking onto a communicator signal or by tying into the ship's sensors. They could also be manually input into the transporter console. These coordinates were labeled as vector coordinates in the lambda, psi and phi axis on the transporter console. 

Examples of galactic/spatial coordinates

 * 000-mark-2: A location of space between Nimbus III and the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, before the Great Barrier becomes visible to the naked eye. Captain James T. Kirk sent a distress call to Starfleet from these coordinates in 2287 when the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) was commandeered by Sybok.


 * 002/845: The location of space, where the starships USS James Fennimore Cooper and USS Robert Louis Stevenson rendezvoused with the USS Discovery in 2364. The James Fennimore Cooper and the Robert Louis Stevenson transferred personnel to the Discovery.


 * 005-mark-317: Coordinates of asteroids inside the asteroid field where the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) tested new photon torpedoes in 2370.


 * 0009-358070690 0009-407764209: The galactic coordinates the Tkon Empire. In 2364, Data presented a hologram of the Empire that included the coordinates.


 * 18-mark-205-mark-47: The location of the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant in 2374. Upon discovering the Hirogen communications network which enabled Voyager's first contact with Starfleet in years, Captain Kathryn Janeway stated the ship's coordinates.


 * 21 alpha prime/936 zeta: The spatial coordinates of the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant in 2372 on stardate 49123.5621.


 * 22/87/4: The coordinates of Gamma Hydra Section 14 on the Federation side of the Neutral zone in 2285.


 * 23.17.46.11: The coordinates of the Io Facility that was in the alternate reality orbiting Io a moon of the planet Jupiter in the Sol system.


 * 036.231: The galactic coordinates for the heart of the Milky Way Galaxy. After the magnetic organism overtook the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) in 2269, it demanded that the crew set the ship on course to these specific coordinates.


 * 43.89.26.05: The coordinates of the planet Qo'noS in grid 09, quad 68, block 27, sector 70.


 * 070-mark-3: The coordinates of quadrant 9 inside the Neutral Zone. A battle between the commandeered Batris and the took place there in 2364.


 * 070-mark-63: The position in space where Q returned the USS Enterprise-D in 2365 after first contact with the Borg.


 * 81-mark-40: Coordinates of a Kazon-Nistrim raider using masking circuitry encountered by USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant in 2371.


 * 090-mark-345: The location of Starbase 179.


 * 113-mark-7: The coordinates of an asteroid field in the Nekrit Expanse in the Delta Quadrant.


 * 121-mark-6: A location inside Sector 38 in the Delta Quadrant near Tak Tak space. USS Voyager was found adrift at these coordinates in 2373 after the crew had been infected by a macrovirus.


 * 140/205: A location of space just outside the Romulan Neutral Zone in Federation space, where the USS Enterprise-D intercepted a Romulan scoutship in 2366.


 * 140-mark-317: A location of space in the Delta Quadrant. A Kazon buoy dropped at these coordinates was used by Seska to relay a communication to the USS Voyager in 2372.


 * 206.80/102.8/128.59: The location of a Vidiian starship in the Delta Quadrant in 2371 that was contacted by Kes.


 * 207-mark-99: The coordinates of Deep Space 9. (, display graphic)


 * 211-mark-61: A location of space inside the remains of Orelious IX, where the USS Enterprise-D discovered a Promellian battlecruiser in 2366.


 * 227-mark-359: Coordinates of Iconia, inside the Romulan Neutral Zone.


 * 237.101: A location of space near the planet Vagra II. After experiencing an onboard systems failure, the drifting shuttlecraft 13 of the USS Enterprise-D was caught in the planet's gravity at these coordinates and crash landed in 2364.


 * 254-mark-220: The coordinates of the Dominion Ketracel-white facility in Cardassian space destroyed during the Dominion War in 2374. (, display graphic)


 * 314-mark-21: Coordinates of a small Kazon raider in the Delta Quadrant moments before it attacked the USS Voyager in 2372.


 * 357-mark-220: The coordinates of Cardassia. (, display graphic)


 * 370.236: A location of space in the Zed Lapis sector. Shuttlecraft 13 experienced an on board systems failure at these coordinates in 2364.


 * 423/112/51: Coordinates of a location near but outside the Boradis system, in a sector colonized by the Federation. The USS Enterprise-D intercepted the class 8 probe carrying special emissary K'Ehleyr there in 2365.


 * 1127.4/4052.0/3901.1: The location of the star Azati Prime.


 * 3629-mark-584: The location in space, where the USS Enterprise-D had a scheduled rendezvous with the USS Victory in 2365.


 * 4159.26/81921/312: A location of space between Tarsas III in Sector 001 and the planet Bynaus. (, display graphic)


 * 16453/452.45: The navigational coordinates of the Maxia Zeta system. (, display graphic)


 * 48563.3/99340.4/00596.3: The coordinates of the Tanuga IV research station before it's destruction in 2366. (, display graphic)


 * 66728.9/707542.2: The coordinates of the Pegos Minor system.

Examples of surface/underground coordinates

 * 18/136/128: The coordinates of Gravett Island on Earth.


 * 118/220: The surface coordinates near a village on the planet Gamma Trianguli VI.


 * 3517/2598: The coordinates of a street in San Francisco close to Starfleet Headquarters on Earth.


 * 857/020/079: The coordinates of the transporter room on the replica USS Enterprise built on the planet Gideon.


 * 857/020/709: The coordinates of the chambers of the Gideon Council on the planet Gideon.


 * 8503.21/5746.90/0038.74: The vector coordinates of the underground Genesis cave on the Regula planetoid.

Background information
According to Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, (page 36) spatial coordinates are used to establish a standard galactic X, Y and Z position.

According to Star Trek Maps, the XYZ spatial coordinates 0,0,0 used by the Federation are those of a central navigation beacon located near the core worlds of the Federation. The galactic XYZ values are in a grid in relation to this central beacon. Units in the grid are parsecs. The first value X is the distance towards (positive) or away from (negative) the center of the galaxy. The second value Y is the distance towards the left "Alpha Quadrant" direction (positive) or the right "Beta Quadrant" direction (negative). The third value Z is the distance in the galactic north direction upwards (positive) or galactic south downwards (negative) away from the galactic plane. Based on the various canon references, the system of coordinates used in Star Trek appears to be more complex than this.

Koordinaten