Galactic quadrant (Star Trek)

In the television series Star Trek and its spin-offs, a galactic quadrant refers to an area of the Milky Way Galaxy. In the original Star Trek, it referred to an area interchangeable with a sector. However, in the various spin-off series and movies beginning with Star Trek: The Next Generation, it refers to a system of four galactic quadrants, designated by the Greek letters Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta.

Original usage

The original usage of quadrant occurs in episodes such as "The Deadly Years" and "The Squire of Gothos", where numbered quadrants (448 and 904) are given. In other episodes it appears to refer to an entire quarter of the galaxy. The season 3 Star Trek: The Next Generation Writers' Technical Manual asserts that there are four quadrants in each sector (which seem to vary in size).

Four quadrants

The exact quadrant borders are not clearly established in the series canon. Episodes often contradict each other. Art staff explanations also contradict each other. The 1988 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Price" introduced the concept of four quadrants of the galaxy, named the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta quadrants.