Unknown Regions / Legends The Unknown Regions , Unknown Space , Unknown Sector , or Unknown Territories was the collective term for all regions of the galaxy not formally charted ; it differed from Wild Space in that Wild Space was usually minimally charted , but not fully explored . The Unknown Regions was broadly defined as areas not connected with the skein of reliable or well - known hyperspace routes spanning the galaxy , did not belong to the wider well - known galactic community , did not look to Coruscant as the ultimate center of civilization , or were not under the broad hegemony of the Galactic Republic before the Galactic Civil War . Beyond the region ’ s outer edge lay the hyperspace disturbance beyond the edge of the galaxy . History . The reach of civilization extended at least nominally to the edge of the galactic disk — for instance , the territory of the Corporate Sector extended to the end of the Tingel Arm . The galactic disk and some satellite galaxies were mapped well enough that the omission of thirty - seven systems ( including Kamino ) from stellar charts were obvious gravitational anomalies , even when scanning from afar . The large galactic volume designated as the " Unknown Regions " included uncharted areas in dense nebulae , , and the . 15 % of the galaxy ' s stellar mass was estimated to be contained within the Unknown Regions . Many governments repeatedly sent scouts into the Unknown Regions . General Wedge Antilles once remarked that " If you continue to map the Unknown Regions , you ' ll have to call them something else . " During the early years of the Galactic Empire , a colonization corporation , Anawa , offered refuge to people by guiding them into the Unknown Regions where the corporation would administrate and police newly discovered habitable planets . The Unknown Regions included a unique section of the galactic disk to the " galactic west " of Bakura , Bilbringi , and the Imperial Remnant . A web of hyperspace anomalies in this section known as " the tangle " impeded galactic exploration by the Republic for millennia . Important powers in this area of space included the Chiss Ascendancy , the Ssi - ruuvi Imperium , the Vagaari , the Killik Colony , and the Empire of the Hand , but it was also home to species such as the Croke , the Ebruchi and the Eickarie . Though severely cut off from the rest of the galaxy , these species interacted with one another , and had created a sort of interstellar culture separate of that of the Galactic Republic or the Empire . Communication and trade were sparse and infrequent , but species such as the Lugubraa were found in the services of larger powers across the Regions . Common threats such as Mnggal - Mnggal brought together disparate species such as the Chiss , Lugubraa , and others to combat its encroachments . One hypothesis by a noted scientist suggested that a mass of intersected the galaxy in this region , creating gravitational anomalies that hindered navigation . However , the lack of any tidal disruption of the galaxy ' s spiral form ( as shown in Jedi Archives ) may have disproved this supposed dark mass . Alternate theories included " hyperspatial gravitic ripples " , or the intentional construction of a barrier , possibly by the Celestial s to hedge the expanding Infinite Empire or to contain Mnggal - Mnggal . What was known for certain is that the division between explored space and the Regions was almost precisely at the midline of the hyperspace disturbance that surrounded the galaxy . It was clear , moreover , that much of the Unknown Regions were passable to determined travelers — for instance , Corellian traders had been in contact with the Chiss for many years before their " re - discovery " , the planet Ilum was reachable by Force - sensitive navigators , the Rakata homeworld of Lehon was also reached by a Republic naval task force at the climax of the Jedi Civil War and subsequently made a protected historical site by the Republic . Additionally , frontier spaceport worlds in the known galaxy , like Terminus , were known to be visited frequently by transports and traders from the Unknown Regions . In some eras , like during the Great Galactic War , Cold War and Galactic War , prominent species like the Chiss cooperated with galactic powers like the Sith Empire . The Ascendancy also participated in diplomatic talks with the Republic and later maintained relations with both the Galactic Empire , the New Republic , the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances and the second Galactic Empire ruled by Darth Krayt . As part of the relations with the First Galactic Empire , the Chiss Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn , a native of these parts , was dispatched aboard the " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer " Admonitor " to the Unknown Regions during the years of the Galactic Civil War , ostensibly on a simple mapping expedition , but in reality to explore and subjugate entire sectors for the Galactic Empire . While there , Thrawn appeared to have encountered the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong . He also created a shadow Empire , the Empire of the Hand . Normalized relations between the Chiss Ascendancy and the New Republic were established following the Galactic Civil War , and the portion of the Unknown Regions existing in the galactic disk was essentially eliminated thanks to the availability of Chiss star - chart s . Sectors . Due to the very fact that the region was " unknown , " it presumably had not been charted and divided into sectors by the Republic . However , the Empire of the Hand had plotted 250 sectors in the region . Behind the scenes . The depiction of the Unknown Regions varies from source to source . In " Vision of the Future " , the space known to the Old Republic , Empire , and New Republic is not specifically assigned to any section of the galactic disk , nor are the Unknown Regions . They do appear adjacent on the map , which includes the disk . The territory under the hegemony of the Empire of the Hand , while by no means comprising all of the Unknown Regions , seemingly embraces as much as 240 sectors , roughly a quarter of the volume of known space . Although huge , this volume is emptier than the galactic disk , since the combined total of the Unknown Regions contains no more than one percent of the galaxy ' s stars . In contrast , " The Essential Chronology " and " " series , as well as the associated galactic map , have bulked the Unknown Regions on one side of the galactic disk . Recent sources such as " The Essential Atlas " and " The Unknown Regions " incorporate both interpretations of the region , ascribing the internal galactic portion to the result of an initially impassable hyperspace barrier near the mid - line of the galaxy , in addition to the one located beyond the edge of the galactic disk , with the area beyond that known as the Intergalactic Void .