DSP Listing
The DSP Listing is a published astrographic guide detailing a part of the Empty Stars, specifically those areas lying to coreward and trailing of the Distant Fringe.
- "DSP" is an acronym for Deep Sky Program.
- The Listing is a star and world catalog, detailing the Where The Stars End region.
- The Listing also includes information on Shadow Rifts, clusters of stars, nebulae, anomalous signal sources, and other phenomena.
Description / Specifications
The Deep Sky Program publishes and updates the DSP Listing, a widely available star catalog. This is most commonly called "Where The Stars End".
- The name is traditional and refers to the Distant Fringe region's position on the edge of the Great Void – literally the point where the stars end. It also refers to the various Shadow Rifts lying within the Empty Stars, from the natural barrier of the Moat Rifts to the distant Laurentine Gulf. The absence of stars within these voids – again, the places where the stars end – would prove to be a major obstacle to interstellar travel, should any ship ever venture into those far-flung areas.
Data is provided for every system within the Empty Stars.
Physical Data
The stars and worlds lying within the far-off sectors of the Empty Stars have only been remotely surveyed. However, their basic physical properties have been repeatedly assessed by multiple independent sources and the vast majority of these organizations confirm one another's findings. Although the UWP can never be stated with absolute certainty until the system has been physically visited, the listed UWP values are considered reliable.
- Based on the observations and findings mainworlds have been nominated for each system.
- The mainworld is assumed to orbit within the star's habitable zone. If it doesn't, this is noted under System Data.
Social Data
Starport and Social Data for the worlds of the Empty Stars is not available.
- Worlds are assumed to have a Class X Starport,
- Population and Population Multiplier are assumed to be 0.
- Government Type and Law Level are assumed to be 0.
- Tech Level is assumed to be 0.
All worlds are assumed to have the trade code Ba (Barren world).
- It is possible that human populations exist on some worlds, descended from lost or wayward vessels from the Last Armada.
- It is extremely likely that native sophont species may exist on some worlds.
Coverage
The Deep Sky Program has accurately defined the positions and types of the stars and worlds that lie within 35 sectors that form part of the Empty Stars. These include:
Empty Stars Sectors
For arbitrary administration purposes, the Where The Stars End region is divided into three blocks.
Central Sectors
Leiden Sector, Mageera Sector, Elysium Sector, Coraline Sector
Forge Sector, Garadin Sector, Median Sector, Tirell Sector
Phanic Sector, Burden Sector, Omicus Sector, Hollow Sector
Outer Sectors
Serenity Sector, Perfection Sector, Ledge Sector
Shandara Sector, Range Sector, Tarchon Sector, Revenant Sector
Rimward Sectors
Kataran Sector, Cauldron Sector, Kalash Sector, Turoman Sector
Valiance Sector, Toller Sector, Palatine Sector, Argent Sector
Samardin Sector, Pestilent Sector,
Distant Fringe Sectors
The two central Distant Fringe Sectors - Halcyon Sector and Far Home Sector - are not listed. The inaccessible regions around them, called the Moat Rifts, are detailed.
Moat Rifts Sectors
Fallow Sector, Extent Sector, Shadow Rift Sector, Bourne Sector
Great Void Sectors
Void sectors lie within the Great Void, a vast expanse of mostly empty space extending many sectors to rimward. Although they are not considered to be part of the Empty Stars, Void sectors are included in the Listing. These regions really are where the stars end.
Abyss Sector, Chasm Sector, Gulf Sector, Deep Sector, Stand Sector
History & Background (Dossier)
Although detailed, accurate information is now widely available relating to the many and varied systems of the Empty Stars, this wasn't always the case. Prior to 5550AD, while details about star locations and types could found, there was relatively limited information available about the various planetary bodies that orbit them. The presence and numbers of gas giants were noted, though details about other types of worlds were not.
The cutting-edge sensor arrays and advanced computing power employed by the Deep Sky Program was certainly sensitive enough to detect the presence and nature of rocky bodies within systems many tens or hundreds of parsecs away. However, that information was not made generally available and there is some speculation over the reasons for this omission. The main argument was that it discouraged casual travel into the Empty Stars. Such travel, it was thought, could have chanced across Voyagers or the Vilani and alerted them to the presence of the surviving Terran culture of the Distant Fringe.
References & Contributors / Sources
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- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
- Author & Contributor: Alex Treacher
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science