Stardates are the units of time which are used in Starfleet and the Federation. These units standardise time measurement between various cultures, worlds and races. Stardates are calculated through a complicated equation that takes into account relativistic effects, universal expansion and the effects of gravity on time and space. Every so often the stardate system has to be updated to take into account the expansion of space or other natural effects. Currently there are approximately 200 stardate units to a year. Halfway into the 24th Century the system is expected to need adjusting once more, to keep in touch with the expansion of the Federation and the universe in which it exists.
Author's notes:
Stardates are a tricky things. Until the advent of Star Trek: The Next Generation, no hard and fast rules existed for stardates. One thing is for sure, there were re-calculations between the times of Kirk and Picard. Below is a table of stardates as mentioned in dialogue unless otherwise stated.
| Movie/Episode/[Incident] | Earth Year | Stardate |
| Star Trek II | 2285 | 8130 |
| Star Trek III | 2285 | 8210 |
| Star Trek IV | 2286 | 8390 |
| Star Trek V | 2287 | 8454 |
| Star Trek VI | 2293 | 9521 |
| Star Trek: Generations | 2293 | 9715 |
| Dark Page [Troi's marriage] | 2328 | 30620* |
| Sins of the Father [Khitomer Massacre] | 2346 | 23859** |
| The Pegasus [Pegasus Inquiry] | 2359 | 36764 |
| Encounter at Farpoint | 2364 | 41153 |
* Mike Okuda notes that the stardate was chosen arbitrarily for the episode.
**Stardate taken from an Okudagram for the Captain's log of the U.S.S. Intrepid arriving at Khitomer. This stardate would seem to adhere to the 1 000 units per year system.
|
Author's Notes [continued]:
From the above table it is not hard to see that the stardate situation for the Interim Years era is one of the biggest headaches, with no definite solution. Stardate 10 000 was chosen for January 1st 2295, moving the stardate to a 5-digit system as soon as possible. It didn't take complicated maths to discover that a 200 stardate units per year system would fit the gap almost perfectly [Assuming Praxis exploded Jan. 2293 and the Enterprise-B was launched in December, there were 195 stardate units in 2293]. Working forwards, this system allows lee-way towards the time of TNG to allow for a transition to a 1 000 units per year system as is used from the TNG-era onwards. [Backward counting would lead to 'difficulties' and inconsistencies]. Further headaches are there in the data that suggests the 1000 unit per year system is used as of 2359, but also as far back as 2346. I have tried to best fit the stardates to Earth year, but it is an imperfect solution to an imperfect situation. Note: the stardate systems change over on July 1st 2342 [stardate 19501], this fits the old and new systems perfectly. Therefore Picard's first logs on the Stargazer were recorded in the 'old' system, whereas Captain Garrett's final logs were recorded in the 'new' system. Below is a table of Earth year and the stardate on January 1st.
| Earth Year | Stardate |
| 2288 | 8520* |
| 2289 | 8720* |
| 2290 | 8920* |
| 2291 | 9120* |
| 2292 | 9320* |
| 2293 | 9520 |
| 2294 | 9800 |
| 2295 | 10000 |
| 2296 | 10200 |
| 2297 | 10400 |
| 2298 | 10600 |
| 2299 | 10800 |
| 2300 | 11000 |
| 2301 | 11200 |
| 2302 | 11400 |
| 2303 | 11600 |
| 2304 | 11800 |
| 2310 | 13000 |
| 2320 | 15000 |
| 2330 | 17000 |
| 2340 | 19000 |
| 2341 | 19200 |
| 2342 | 19400 |
| 2343 | 20001** |
| 2344 | 21001 |
| 2345 | 22001 |
| 2346 | 23001 |
| 2350 | 27001** |
| 2360 | 37001** |
| 2364 | 41001** |
*Backdating to cover the time between ST:V & ST:VI. Note that the events in Star Trek: New Worlds now cover 2290 - Dec 2291, and not 2292 as the game suggests.
**July 1st 2342 sees the introduction of the 1000 unit/year system. This date has been chosen as it matches up perfectly between the two systems. This system is in keeping with established back-stardating in TNG episodes.
|
Here is a table that shows how to translate stardates to Earth Dates during the time of this stardate system. The formula for conversion is stardate divided by 200 multiplied by 365. Then you just work out what day of the year that is. Table follows with example dates afterwards:
| UNIT NUMBER | EARTH DATE |
| 00 | January 1st |
| 22 | February 9th |
| 43 | March 20th |
| 62 | April 23rd |
| 100 | July 1st |
| 114 | July 26th |
| 137 | September 5th |
| 199 | Dec 31st |
Example dates:
| STARDATE | EARTH DATE |
| 11222 | February 9th 2301 |
| 11243 | March 20th 2301 |
| 11300 | July 1st 2301 |
| 11398 | December 28th 2301 |
Finally, when calculating stardate - Earth date conversion:
| MONTH | DAYS IN MONTH | TOTAL DAYS OF YEAR
BY END OF MONTH |
| JANUARY | 31 | 31 |
| FEBRUARY | 28 | 59 |
| MARCH | 31 | 90 |
| APRIL | 30 | 120 |
| MAY | 31 | 151 |
| JUNE | 30 | 181 |
| JULY | 31 | 212 |
| AUGUST | 31 | 243 |
| SEPTEMBER | 30 | 274 |
| OCTOBER | 31 | 304 |
| NOVEMBER | 30 | 335 |
| DECEMBER | 31 | 365 |
As for leap years, they probably figure in there someplace...
