How do Star Trek Star dates work?

Answer 1

If you base it on that 1000 stardates is one year, which is logical, since each season of TNG, DS9 and Voyager progresses 1000 stardates per season, and that the year 2364 is coming to a close at stardate 41986.0, which is the stardate of the episode "The Neutral Zone" in which Data makes a remark that it is that year, you will have a good basis. Let us from this agree that the year 2364 stretches from stardate 41000.0 to 41999.9. From that it follows that if we subtract 41 years we will have stardate 0 which will be 2323. Consequently all stardates before January 1st, 2323 will be negative, compare bc. From this it should be simple to understand that you should take today's year, you will have to convert the months, days, hours, minutes and seconds it has progressed into decimals, subtract 2323 and multiply it by one thousand. To show a few examples, let's say that today's date is January 9th, 2008, as it is. That will become cirka 2008.025. If we subtract 2323 we get -315.975, and if we multiply it by 1000 we get stardate -315975.0. In the example on top, let's say that the episode "The neutral zone" is happening on boxing day. We will be at year 2364.986. Subtract 2323 and get 41.986. Multiply it by 1000 and get stardate 41986.0 as mentioned above. By the way. I have not read this any place, it's just how I picture it to be, so don't take it's validity for granted.

Answer 2

In the original series, they were four-digit numbers which usually increased as the series went on but were pretty random. Each stardate was supposed to be a day, but the numbers increased by thousands as the series went on, clearly too many for the amount of time that was supposed to be passing.

In TNG-era and later series five digit numbers were used, the second digit increased by 1 each year. Again, each stardate was supposed to equal one day, which doesn't quite fit with the number going up by a thousand each year.

In the 2009 Star Trek film, a four digit number is again used, this number is equal to the Gregorian (normal) calendar year, so the opening of the film (stardate 2233.04) takes place near the beginning of the year 2233. The number after the decimal point is supposed to represent the number of days elapsed in the year so far, but clearly by that logic a three digit number (2233.004) might be more appropriate.

Answer 3

A stardate is a means of specifying absolute[1] dates in the fictional Star Trek universe. They are decimal numbers, usually rounded to a single decimal place,[2] which replace absoluteGregorian calendar dates. The in-universe behavior of stardates is much less transparent than that of any known calendar,[3] because the writers chose the numbers more or less arbitrarily,[4] depending on the era of Star Trek in question.[5] One of the stated reasons for stardates was the need to establish the events in the series as taking place far into the future without tying the episodes down to a specific date,[6] though Star Trek: The Next Generation mentions that the events of that show take place in the 24th century.

Here are a few observations I have made regarding stardates:

The entire first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation occurs between stardates 41000.0 and 42000.0, the second season takes place between 42000.0 and 43000.0, and so on, with the seventh and final season taking place between 47000.0 and 48000.0. The first season of Star Trek: Voyager takes place between stardates 48000.0 and 49000.0, and the pattern continues, with the seventh and final season taking place between stardates 54000.0 and 55000.0. Stardates on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which bridges those two series, follow the same pattern. I have also observed that the first digit of the stardate left of the decimal point increments during the "night shift", and the digit to the right of the decimal point advances from 0 to 9 through one "day". -HW