Stardate A stardate was a type of date used by the United Federation of Planets and other governments . It was usually expressed as a number of digits followed by decimal places , e . g . 5928 . 5 or 2263 . 02 . History . Stardates were used in certain cultures as far back as the 2150s , when the United Earth government still worked with Gregorian calendar dates . In 2154 , Degra , a Xindi - Primate , sent a coded message to containing a stardate for when " Enterprise " should rendezvous with Degra ' s ship . T ' Pol knew that it was three days in the future , indicating that Vulcan s also had an understanding of stardates at that time . ( ) When adopted by Earth soon after , stardates began to be used in many contexts instead of mere days of a month . By 2164 , Starfleet officers were expected to open their log entries with a stardate . ( ) By 2233 , the digits to the left of the decimal separator stood for the Gregorian calendar year . ( ) This format was used in the alternate reality at least to 2263 . ( ) By 2256 in the prime reality , a more complex relationship had been established between stardates and the Gregorian calendar . ( ) This format lasted at least to 2379 . ( ) The " " , however , reported its manufacturing date as simply " stardate 2387 " . ( ) Stardates did not replace clock time or everyday units for expressing larger timespans , such as days , weeks , months , years , centuries , or millennia , and tend not to apply retroactively instead of Gregorian or Julian calendars either . ( ) The following table outlines the progress of stardates over time : " In an alternate timeline that diverged from the prime timeline in 2344 , the term combat date had replaced the term stardate in the dating system used by Starfleet by 2366 . The term was used during the of that timeline . " ( ) Appendices . Background information . Stardates were first portrayed in , the second pilot for the series . Dave Eversole notes that the first draft of the teleplay ( dated May 27 , 1965 ) includes " Captain ' s Log , Report 197 . " In addition , " Star Trek Fact Check " shows a scripted narration from the same draft containing " star date 1312 . 6 " . This became " star date 1312 . 4 " by the final revised draft ( July 8 , 1965 ) , which also asks for " C - 1277 . 1 to 1313 . 7 " to appear on Kirk ' s gravestone . According to " Star Trek Fact Check " , de Forest Research had this to say about stardates : ( Page 2 , Scene 3 ) But on star date 1312 . 4 – Astronomers already have adopted a method of dating which makes possible the counting of the number of days elapsed between widely separated observations called ' the Julian Day ' . Today July 14 , 1965 is 2 , 438 , 956 in Julian days . A Julian cycle is 7 , 980 years , and the Julian day measurement would be scientifically authentic . Suggest “ on Julian B 1312 . 4 ” . This date would be August 5 , 3271 . ( Page 65 , Scene 175 ) C - 1277 . 1 to 1313 . 7 – We presume dates are in days , Kirk would only be 36 days old . For conventional dating suggest 3235 to 3271 . For Kirk ’ s birth date in Julian system figure would be in millions . If desired , can be calculated . On the other hand , the letter " C " and the rate of increase in the script suggest that 1277 . 1 was intended to be the date Kirk was promoted to captain and / or assumed command of the " Enterprise " , not his date of birth . Julian B is meant to be the day count since January 1 , 3268 , the start of the next 7980 - year According to Kellam de Forest : The original script for the pilot of Star Trek was titled " Menagerie " ( sic ) and we in the research department , De Forest Research , didn ' t see it until it was in script form and came to us to review just like any other Desilu script , or any other script from any other client . So we got this script , and the script originally had dates in it , like 2362 , and months and days . I felt that that sounded a little awkward for the 23rd , 22nd century , so I thought that there should be another , another dating system . So I checked that , yes , the astronomers had a way of dating called a Julian day system , in which , based on the calculations of a 16th century French mathematician / philosopher that felt that because he devised this calendar with a thousands and thousands of year cycle and each day was numbered , and astronomers have used that since , because it , you don ' t have to bother with years and leap years and AD and BC . So I suggested to Gene Roddenberry that there was this system out there and the days would be numbered , and he picked up on that and coined the term " stardate " and dated the log and the dating in Star Trek with this stardate system . " Gene Roddenberry : The Myth and the Man Behind Star Trek " . The pilot was written by Samuel A . Peeples , who was interviewed by journalist Joel Engel for " " . Replying to a newsgroup question on stardates , Engel quoted information from his book : " For the starship captain ' s log entry narrations , Roddenberry wanted to devise a futuristic measurement of time reference . He called ( Sam ) Peeples ( whom Roddenberry had contacted early on for help in learning about science fiction , a subject he knew nothing about ; it was Peeples who wrote " Where No Man Has Gone Before , " the pilot that sold ST ) . The two men had a few drinks while brainstorming , and soon began chuckling over their imaginative ' stardate ' computations . ' We tried to set up a system that would be unidentified unless you knew how we did it , ' Peeples says . " They marked off sections on a pictorial depiction of the known universe and extrapolated how much earth time would elapse when traveling between given points , taking into account that the Enterprise ' s warp engines would be violating Einstein ' s theory that nothing could exceed the speed of light . They concluded that the ' time continuum ' would therefore vary from place to place , and that earth time may actually be lost in travel . ' So the stardate on Earth would be one thing , but the stardate on Alpha Centauri would be different , ' Peeples says . ' We thought this was hilarious , because everyone would say , " How come this date is before that date when this show is after that show ? " The answer was because you were in a different sector of the universe . ' " The Star Trek Guide " . The following instructions to writers were copied from the series bible " Star Trek Guide ; " they are quoted at " Star Trek Fact Check " . The original date of composition and the author are unclear , but the sample stardates are consistent with the range from the second pilot . We invented " Stardate " to avoid continually mentioning Star Trek ' s century ( actually , about two hundred years from now ) , and getting into arguments about whether this or that would have developed by then . Pick any combination of four numbers plus a percentage point , use it as your story ' s stardate . For example , 1313 . 5 is twelve o ' clock noon of one day and 1314 . 5 would be noon of the next day . Each percentage point ( sic ) is roughly equivalent to one - tenth of one day . The progression of stardates in your script should remain constant but don ' t worry about whether or not there is a progression from other scripts . Stardates are a mathematical formula which varies depending on location in the galaxy , velocity of travel , and other factors , can vary widely from episode to episode . What is called a " percentage point " is actually the tenths digit . While the daily rate of increase wasn ' t always adhered to within episodes , the initial four digits weren ' t selected quite as randomly as described here . An overall increase with time can be observed in the above table of stardates , from 1312 . 4 in the second pilot to 5928 . 5 in the final episode of the series . " " and the movies continued the general trend , despite a number of variations in the rate of change . " The Making of Star Trek " . Although much of the information from the " Star Trek Guide " was used in Stephen E . Whitfield ' s book " The Making of Star Trek " ( conceived in May 1967 and published in September 1968 ) , the above specifics of selecting stardate numbers weren ' t included . However , the author did interview Gene Roddenberry on the subject , who provided a more elaborate rationalization for stardate behavior : In the beginning , I invented the term " star date " simply to keep from tying ourselves down to 2265 A . D . , or should it be 2312 A . D . ? I wanted us well into the future but without arguing approximately which century this or that would have been invented or superseded . When we began making episodes , we would use a star date such as 2317 one week , and then a week later when we made the next episode we would move the star date up to 2942 , and so on . Unfortunately , however , the episodes are not aired in the same order in which we filmed them . So we began to get complaints from the viewers , asking , " How come one week the star date is 2891 , the next week it ' s 2337 , and then the week after it ' s 3414 ? " In answering these questions , I came up with the statement that " this time system adjusts for shifts in relative time which occur due to the vessel ' s speed and space warp capability . It has little relationship to Earth ' s time as we know it . One hour aboard the U . S . S . " Enterprise " at different times may equal as little as three Earth hours . The star dates specified in the log entry must be computed against the speed of the vessel , the space warp , and its position within our galaxy , in order to give a meaningful reading . " Therefore star date would be one thing at one point in the galaxy and something else again at another point in the galaxy . I ' m not quite sure what I meant by that explanation , but a lot of people have indicated it makes sense . If so , I ' ve been lucky again , and I ' d just as soon forget the whole thing before I ' m asked any further questions about it . " Star Trek 30 Years Special Collector ' s Edition " . " Star Trek 30 Years Special Collector ' s Edition " , published in 1996 by Paramount Pictures , states on page 81 : Few " Star Trek " topics generate as much heated debate as the stardate system , the time calculation used by the " United Federation of Planets " which was introduced to the classic series by Gene Roddenberry , who borrowed the notion from the Julian date currently used by astronomers . Developed by Joseph Justus Scaliger ( who named his dating system after his father , Julius Caesar Saliger ) , the Julian time calculation measures the number of days elapsed since 1 Jan . 4713 BC , the date derived by Joseph Justus . In the case of the 30th anniversary of the air date for the original series ( 8 Sept . 1996 ) , that ' s 2 , 450 , 335 days . To make it easier , astronomers only use the last five digits - making 50335 the Julian date for the " Star Trek " anniversary . For " Star Trek " , Roddenberry added a single digit after the decimal point ( 50335 . 2 ) to represent one of the 10 time measurements in a 24 - hour period . . . Roddenberry borrowed the five - digit Julian date , shortening it to four digits and renaming it " stardate . " " The Next Generation " era . The teleplay of dated April 13 , 1987 contains stardates ranging from 42353 . 7 to 42372 . 5 . ( ) This was changed to 41153 . 7 - 41174 . 2 on the air , consistent with the following description in " Star Trek : The Next Generation Writer ' s / Director ' s Guide " of March 23 , 1987 ( p . 13 ) : A stardate is a five - digit number followed by a decimal point and one more digit . Example : " 41254 . 7 . " The first two digits of the stardate are always " 41 . " The 4 stands for 24th century , the 1 indicates first season . The additional three leading digits will progress unevenly during the course of the season from 000 to 999 . The digit following the decimal point is generally regarded as a day counter . As in TOS , stardates from the first season of TNG would sometimes decrease with time . In one noticeable example Tasha Yar ' s death occurs around 41601 . 3 ( ) , but she was alive in episodes with greater stardates such as , set around stardate 41997 . 7 . The second season revision includes more detailed text regarding the decimal place , reiterating the Original Series rule : A Stardate is a five - digit number followed by a decimal point and one more digit . Example : " 42254 . 7 " . The first two digits of the Stardate are always " 42 . " The 4 stands for 24th Century , the 2 indicates second season . The additional three leading digits will progress unevenly during the course of the season from 000 to 999 . The digit preceding the decimal point counts days , and the digit following the decimal point counts one - tenth of a day . By the sixth season , " consecutively " had replaced " unevenly " from the above quote , consistent with the lack of decreasing stardates in later seasons of TNG . A Stardate is a five - digit number followed by a decimal point and one more digit . Example : " 46254 . 7 " . The first two digits of the Stardate are " 46 . " The 4 stands for the 24th Century , the 6 indicates sixth season . The following three digits will progress consecutively during the course of the season from 000 to 999 . The digit following the decimal point counts tenths of a day . Stardate 45254 . 4 , therefore , represents the noon hour on the 254th " day " of the fifth season . Because Stardates in the 24th Century are based on a complex mathematical formula , a precise correlation to Earth - based dating systems is not possible . In actual fact , these 1 , 000 " days " would elapse in roughly a year , as demonstrated by numerous references in dialogue to events from previous seasons . The " century " digit was clarified as early as , where the imaginary Jean - Luc Riker asks the computer to display his birthday party of stardate 58416 , said to be less than sixteen years in the future of 2367 . The initial digit may have been inspired by the 24th century , but in - universe it changes once a decade . The writers of the further developed the system by having a calendar year start at 000 and end at 999 , although this does not fit all references in the show , such as a Diwali celebration around stardate 44390 , too early in the year according to the simplified system . ( ) Stardate 41986 . 0 was in 2364 according to , hence the simplified system assumes that stardates 41xxx . x covered the entire year 2364 , stardates 42xxx . x the entire year 2365 and so forth . As stated in " Star Trek Chronology " ( p . 95 ) : The year 2323 works out as the zero point for the system of stardates developed for " Star Trek : The Next Generation " , assuming that the beginning of year 2364 ( the first season of " Star Trek : The Next Generation " ) was stardate 41000 , and that stardates progress at 1000 units per year . In other words , under the " Next Generation " system of stardates , January 1 , 2323 would seem to correspond to stardate 0 . This probably shouldn ' t be taken too seriously , because " Star Trek " s stardates have never been too internally consistent , but we ' re mentioning it here because it ' s kinda fun . The second digit increased every season in TNG spin - offs as well . Since the contemporary DS9 premiered during the sixth season of TNG , stardates on the show ranged from 46379 . 1 to 52861 . 3 . Likewise , the first season of " Voyager " ( 2371 ) would have paralleled the eighth season of TNG had it continued , so " Voyager " stardates ranged from 48315 . 6 to 54973 . 4 . In at least one draft of the script , had a stardate of 47844 . 9 , but the initial digits were changed to ' 56 ' for the film , consistent with Riker having been Picard ' s " trusted right arm for fifteen years . " However , stardates of events prior to , but not so far back as the time of TOS , do not always conform to this method of counting . According to the " Star Trek Chronology " : Editors ' confession : In " Dark Page " ( TNG ) , an entry in Lwaxana ' s journal dated stardate 30620 . 1 is established to be during the year in which she got married , 2328 . Unfortunately , under the " Star Trek : The Next Generation " system of stardates ( which allocates 1 , 000 stardate units per year , and puts the beginning of year 2364 at stardate 41000 ) the beginning of the year 2328 should be around stardate 5000 . " Star Trek " technical consultant ( and Chronology co - author ) Mike Okuda decided that a four - digit stardate would be confusing since this sounds like an " Original Series " number , so he arbitrarily picked 30620 , even though it is not consistent with stardates used elsewhere in the show . In addition to the overall rate of approximately 1 , 000 units per year , many episodes confirm the 24 - hour stardate unit mentioned in the series bibles . It is especially noticeable when the time of day is shown next to a stardate fraction , as demonstrated in the table below : Although the vast majority of stardates are given with only one digit following the decimal point , the captain ' s log in is recorded with two digits ( 41235 . 25 and 41235 . 32 ) and other references have two , three or even four digits , as in , where a stardate of 42073 . 1435 is seen on a viewscreen in the Observation Lounge . Commenting on the graphic , Mike Okuda explained : " I always thought that the numbers after the decimal were fractions of a 24 hour day , meaning that . 1435 would be about 3 : 20 in the morning . Which is really early in the day for a doctor ' s appointment . . . " In , Seven of Nine travels back in time from 52861 . 274 to 49123 . 5621 . Occasionally there are no digits , such as when " today ' s date " is given as stardate 47988 . ( ) Alternate reality . The stardate format from the latest film series is credited to screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman . According to Orci , they " used the system where , for example , 2233 . 45 or whatever means 23rd century , 33rd year of that century , and the . 45 indicates the day of the year out of 365 days . " During a Q & A session , Orci restated that a stardate is " the year , as in 2233 , with the month and day expressed as a decimal point from . 1 to . 365 ( as in the 365 days of the year ) . " He posted a similar reply on Twitter : " star date = standard year , with decimal representing day of year from 1 - 365 . " The new stardates are similar to the s of ISO 8601 , which would express the first day of 2260 as 2260 - 001 , and the last as 2260 - 366 . Orci hasn ' t clarified whether leap days increase the count to . 366 , which would be expected if the years are Gregorian . When asked about 2230 . 06 and 2233 . 04 from the screenplay , with only one leading zero instead of two or none , he replied that it could have been an error . IDW ' s " Star Trek : Timelines " show the latter number as 2233 . 4 , while places Kirk ' s birthday " a couple of days " after 2263 . 2 from his log entry . Shortly thereafter , Ambassador Spock ' s date of death is displayed as 2263 . 02 , and his date of birth again as 2230 . 06 . When Uhura calls for help from Krall ' s base , her screen shows " 226X . XX " , which isn ' t labeled a stardate but does suggest an entire two - digit range . Though farther from the films ' production , the sees 2233 . 04 as January 4 of that year . The alternate reality adaptation of begins with a stardate in the new style , but the second part of that comic reverts to 1313 . 1 , consistent with the range of its prime reality counterpart , and the same approach is taken with reimagining , which begins on stardate 2821 . 5 . After that story was finished , writer Mike Johnson commented at TrekMovie . com : " Speaking of typos . . . Going forward we are using the new Stardate system . " Even so , not every alternate stardate may have been chosen correctly for the intended chronological order . According to Johnson in the Open Channels section of " The Q Gambit , Part 4 " ( p . 25 ) : The ongoing series is running in chronological order , except for those stories that are established as a flashback , like the origin of Science Officer 0718 . So " The Q Gambit " takes place after " The Khitomer Conflict " and " Parallel Lives " , and after the " Enterprise " has embarked on its new five - year mission after " Star Trek Into Darkness " . " The Q Gambit " begins on stardate 2261 . 34 , and yet " The Khitomer Conflict " already saw the higher stardates 2261 . 147 , . 149 and . 168 . " Parallel Lives " continued with . 274 and . 234 in that order . " Live Evil , Part 1 " could not have been set after , where the " Enterprise " is destroyed . Still , the digits after the separator always fall within Orci ' s range , even if the comics do not provide the matching days of the month . The table below shows only new - style stardates from the films and other sources , along with their calculated equivalents in the Gregorian calendar . Given the above evidence , the conversion provisionally assumes that . 0 # was always intended to mean Day # , not a fraction of the year . As seen in the table , when asked by the alternate Spock , the computer aboard the " Jellyfish " reports a manufacturing stardate of 2387 , consistent with the timespan of 129 years stated earlier in the film . The comic miniseries , which details events in the prime reality that led to the 2009 film , nevertheless gives its latest stardate as 64467 . 14 , resulting in mid - 2387 according to the " Chronology " rules . Moreover , " Star Trek Online " , set over 20 years after the destruction of Romulus , continues to use the format created for TNG , placing it in the 86000 range ; on the other hand , " Star Trek : Timelines " freely applies alternate reality stardates to events from the prime reality . " Star Trek : Discovery " . A week before the premiere , the Star Trek Twitter page began counting up from 1200 . 4 , continuing daily with 1201 . 5 , 1202 . 4 , 1203 . 4 , 1204 . 5 , 1205 . 4 , 1206 . 5 and finally 1207 . 4 , consistent with stardate 1207 . 3 of the first episode . While this rate of increase matches the convention in TOS , the numbers are higher than 1024 . 7 for Joran Dax ’ s birth in the following decade . Later episodes establish stardates in the actual TOS range , as well as the familiar changing rates and numbers decreasing with time . Deviations from production norms . Stardates would occasionally deviate from the prevailing production norm throughout " Star Trek " incarnations . Examples include : Franz Joseph stardates . Most of the stardates in " Star Fleet Technical Manual " are calendar dates of the 1970s , formatted YYMM . DD . This can be inferred by comparing the stated dates of first printing ( November 1975 ) and the 20th anniversary edition ( September 1986 ) with the corresponding stardates , 7511 . 01 and 8609 . 01 . According to StarTrek . com , " By using the year , month , day approach , the day the first episode of " Star Trek " aired , September 8 , 1966 , would appear as 6609 . 08 . " The 1979 " Star Trek ( Stardate ) Calendar " also used this format . Apocrypha . FASA reference stardates . FASA ' s " " released in the early 1980s used similar to those used by Franz Joseph . However , they prefixed a digit and a slash to represent the century , starting with the year 2000 , so January 1 , 2000 , was 0 / 0001 . 01 and the Organian Peace Treaty was signed on 2 / 0801 . 24 , or , according to " Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology " . Preceding centuries are negative , so the first episode of TOS aired - 1 / 6609 . 08 . Novels . In the novel " Where Sea Meets Sky " , Captain Christopher Pike has to use conversion formulas to convert stardates to the Gregorian Calendar for his friend Nowan from the bar The Captain ' s Table . In the " " novel " The War of the Prophets " , the stardate system is based on hyperdimensional distance averaging .