Galactic Coordinates

X/Y/Z Navigation & Sol Origin

Cartographic Overlay

Signal Summary

Every star system can be treated as a point in a three-axis coordinate frame. X, Y, and Z are offsets measured in light-years, which lets route planners and spatial searches reduce the galaxy to distance math.

For ED:CS, those coordinates power nearest-system search, distance calculations, route plotting, and the galaxy-map tile baker. A system name is human-friendly; the coordinate triple is what makes it navigable.

X/Y/ZSol OriginLight-years

Key Concepts

X axis - Horizontal galactic-plane offset, useful for east-west separation on map projections.

Y axis - Vertical offset above or below the galactic plane; sparse high-Y systems can become routing choke points.

Z axis - Depth through the galactic plane, completing the true 3D distance calculation.

Distance - Computed with the 3D Euclidean formula, not a flat map measurement.

Field Notes

A short-looking jump on a 2D projection may be much longer once vertical Y separation is included.

The same coordinate data can drive both precise API search and broad visual clustering in the galaxy map.

Large-radius searches should always use a bounding volume first, then refine to true spherical distance.

Reference

Signal	Value	Use
Unit	Light-year	The standard distance unit for system positions and jump range.
Origin	Sol region	A practical reference point for human-readable galactic offsets.
Distance check	sqrt(dx² + dy² + dz²)	The final exact distance between two systems.