Spatial, Subspace and Temporal Anomalies and Interference Phenomena

Spatial/Subspace/Temporal Anomalies

WORMHOLES
A wormhole was a "tunnel" connecting two separate points of space-time. It consisted of two "holes" in space-time connected by a conduit outside normal space, through 'subspace'. Since this conduit through subspace was shorter than the distance between the two points in normal space, almost instantaneous travel was possible between the two points. If a wormhole was large enough, and stable enough, a starship (or other traveler) could enter one end and exit the other, thus shortening a journey. A wormhole could also connect two different points in time since the conduit was outside normal space-time, enabling it to return at any place, at any time. Before knowing where the Harry Kim wormhole ended, Tuvok stated that there was a 75% chance that it didn't lead to the Alpha Quadrant. It may thus be concluded that wormholes never leave the Milky Way (VOY: "Eye of the Needle").
- Wormholes and the possibility of using them for time travel had been recognized by human scientists since the 20th century. In 2368, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise-D agreed with faux historian Berlinghoff Rasmussen that using knowledge gained by means of time travel through a wormhole, for example, in order to save an endangered planet could allow the "next Adolf Hitler" or Khan Noonien Singh to come into being. According to the Captain, first year philosophy students had been asked the question ever since the first wormholes had been discovered. (TNG: "A Matter of Time").
- No known naturally-occurring stable wormholes had yet been discovered in the Alpha or Beta Quadrants. The only likely candidate, the Barzan wormhole, was found to be unstable at its far terminus. Several relatively stable wormhole-like phenomena have been reported in the Delta Quadrant. (TNG: "The Price", VOY: "Night", "Counterpoint", et al).
- An artificial wormhole opened in 2372 Wormhole distortion. The only currently known artificial wormhole was the Bajoran wormhole, created by beings known to the Bajorans as the Prophets, who dwelled within. This wormhole was stable enough for long-term, two-way space travel between the Bajor system and the Idran system in the Gamma Quadrant. (DS9: "Emissary").
- In the 2370s, the Federation investigated methods of creating artificial wormholes. The project was headed by Dr. Lenara Kahn of the Trill Science Ministry, who eventually developed a workable theory that she tested aboard the USS Defiant in 2372. The technique involved generating a subspace tensor matrix in the 25,000-30,000 Cochrane range, and then sending out a magnetron pulse using a target drone. The pulse would then interact with the matrix to produce a subspace distortion, which would become an opening in the space-time continuum. The first test of this technique produced a wormhole that was stable for 24.3 seconds. On the second test, a class-4 probe was launched through the wormhole to simulate the passage of an interstellar spacecraft. However, the probe's shields unexpectedly interacted with the tetryon field, collapsing the wormhole and producing a massive graviton shockwave that heavily damaged the Defiant. (DS9: "Rejoined").
- A wormhole-like distortion could also be caused by an imbalanced matter-antimatter mix ratio in a warp drive. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
- The Harry Kim wormhole was the name that Tom Paris proposed petitioning the Federation Astronomical Committee to officially designate the wormhole discovered by Harry Kim in the Delta Quadrant in 2371. Although exhibiting the usual properties of a wormhole, including verteron emanations and tunneling secondary particles, it was discovered to be a micro-wormhole, one of the smallest ever encountered. Its aperture measured a mere 30 centimeters in diameter, far too small for a starship to pass through. It, however, was large enough to act as a conduit to send a microprobe through. Inside the micro-wormhole, the probe encountered microscopic gravitational eddies, and extremely constricted spatial dimensions. It was determined to be a wormhole in an advanced state of decay. One phenomenon the probe did detect was a strange phase variance in the radiation stream. The probe would eventually get stuck in a dense gravitational eddy, however, would be utilized as a relay to the other side, later determined to be the Alpha Quadrant. It was also later determined that the phase variance was, in fact, a temporal displacement, found to represent a twenty-year temporal shift at either end of its terminus. (VOY: "Eye of the Needle")

The Bajoran wormhole is the only stable wormhole currently known to exist in the galaxy. The terminus nearest to the Federation is located in the Denorios Belt in the Bajor system, and crosses some 70,000 light years to the Idran system in the Gamma Quadrant. The wormhole is also the home of extra-dimensional beings that are worshipped by the Bajorans as the Prophets, and therefore is also sometimes referred to as the Celestial Temple. The wormhole is also known as "the anomaly" by the Jem'Hadar. (DS9: "The Jem'Hadar")
- Bajoran historical records indicate that the wormhole has most likely been in existence for at least the past 10,000 years. In that period of time, nine Orbs have appeared on or near Bajor, and are revered as active links between the Bajoran people and their gods. There were several unexplained incidents that are now attributed to the wormhole, although it remained undiscovered until the 24th century. In the 22nd century, Kai Taluno's ship was disabled inside the Denorios Belt for several days, and Taluno reported that "the heavens opened up and nearly swallowed the ship." Also, in 2337, an unknown, unpiloted alien ship appeared in the Belt, with a shape shifting being on board. Because the Denorios Belt was generally avoided by all interplanetary traffic, the wormhole remained undiscovered until 2369, shortly after the end of the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor. When Starfleet took over operation of the station, Commander Benjamin Sisko and science officer Jadzia Dax investigated the many reported anomalies in the Belt aboard the USS Rio Grande, and became the official discoverers of the wormhole. Shortly thereafter, starbase Deep Space 9 was relocated to a position near the Bajor terminus of the wormhole. (DS9: "Emissary")
- There is no full understanding of the scientific principles that allow the wormhole to remain stable. Much information, however, has been gained through observation in the past decade. Highly elevated levels of neutrinos are commonly detected prior to the appearance of the wormhole's event horizon, and as a vessel traverses the passage. It is believed that verteron nodes play a large part in keeping the wormhole stable. (DS9: "In the Hands of the Prophets")
- In 2371, Starfleet initiated a joint scientific project with the Bajoran and Cardassian governments to establish a trans-wormhole subspace communications relay to make it possible for ships in the Gamma Quadrant to contact home, as well as to provide early warning of any Dominion attack. The mission was complicated by a warning from Bajoran Vedek Yarka, who cited Trakor's Third Prophecy about the potential destruction of the Celestial Temple. This prophecy was unexpectedly validated soon after with the approach of a previously-unknown, long-period comet. This comet was infused with silithium, which had the potential to permanently destabilize the wormhole if it interacted with the verteron particles in the passage. Unable to alter the comet's trajectory, a shuttlepod from the USS Defiant used a deflector shield to prevent the comet's material from contaminating the wormhole. During the transit, trace amounts of silithium inadvertently leaked through the shield. However, the small amounts did not destabilize the wormhole, but instead created a subspace filament inside the wormhole that allowed normal communication between the quadrants. (DS9: "Destiny")
- The wormhole had an enormous impact on interstellar politics in the Alpha Quadrant. In the first two years, many races eagerly sent explorers and freighters through the wormhole to open relations with new trading partners, and to establish new colonies. However, the wormhole also brought the powers of the Alpha Quadrant into contact with the Dominion, a powerful government that controlled a large swath of territory in the Gamma Quadrant. (DS9: "The Jem'Hadar")
- In 2373, Starfleet was forced to blockade the wormhole with self-replicating mines in order to prevent a growing Dominion invasion of the Alpha Quadrant. The wormhole remained sealed, and protected by the Prophets, for the entire Dominion War. (DS9: "Call to Arms")
- Ronald D. Moore commented that, after the invading Dominion fleet was destroyed, "the Prophets probably would stop any Dominion ship from coming through the wormhole." The wormhole was apparently destroyed in late 2374, when Dukat, acting as a conduit for the exiled Pah-wraiths, attacked the Orb of Contemplation which was then housed on Deep Space 9. Following Dukat's attack, all of the Orbs went dark, and the wormhole itself disappeared. (DS9: "Tears of the Prophets")
- The disappearance of the wormhole and the apparent loss of contact with their deities caused great consternation and fear among the Bajorans, as well as the rise of the Cult of the Pah-wraiths. (DS9: "Image in the Sand")
- The wormhole remained closed for the next three months, until Benjamin Sisko, acting as the Emissary of the Prophets, discovered the Orb of the Emissary on Tyree in early 2375. Sisko's discovery of the previously-unknown tenth Orb signaled the re-opening of the wormhole. (DS9: "Shadows and Symbols")
- In the Deep Space Nine book trilogy "Millennium", there was a second Bajoran wormhole; a Pah-wraith wormhole that opened when the three Orbs of the Pah-wraiths were brought together in Quark's Bar. The second wormhole actually opened inside of Quark's, ripping Deep Space Nine to pieces. The opening of the second wormhole nearly spelled Armageddon for the entire universe were it not for the actions of Ben Sisko, the crew of the USS Defiant, and Garak, Quark, and Jake Sisko.

The Barzan wormhole, located near Barzan II, was discovered in 2366. At the time, it was believed to be the first and only stable wormhole to ever exist, connecting the Alpha Quadrant with the Gamma Quadrant. The wormhole appeared precisely every 233 minutes, which, according to the Barzan scientists, is due to radiation build up in the accretion disk; its visible burst was very brief. A Barzan probe sent through the wormhole discovered that its terminus was located beyond the Denkiri Arm in the Gamma Quadrant. During a later investigation, it was discovered that the terminus also appeared at a location in Sector 3556 of the Delta Quadrant, nearly 200 light years from the initial report. The discovery of the wormhole provided the Barzans with their first true natural resource. Consequently, they decided to capitalize on the opportunity and negotiations to secure rights to the wormhole took place on board the USS Enterprise-D between representatives of the Caldonians, Chrysalians, the Federation, and Ferengi. However these ended when a pair of Ferengi were trapped on the far side of the wormhole. It turned out that the non-Barzan terminus of the wormhole was unstable so it could not be used as a safe transport system. (TNG: "The Price")
- These Ferengi were discovered in 2373 posing as gods on Takar II in the Delta Quadrant by the USS Voyager. During their escape, the pair disrupted the wormhole's fragile subspace balance and made both ends unstable. It is not known where they emerged. (VOY: "False Profits")

The Antares Maelstrom is some sort of astronomical object in the Antares system. Khan Noonien Singh swore he would chase Admiral James T. Kirk "round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares maelstrom and round perdition's flames" before he gave him up. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) A maelstrom is basically described as "a powerful whirlpool." While Khan's reference is relatively vague, it would appear to describe some sort of large swirling spatial anomaly found in the Antares system.

The "Badlands", located in Sector 04-70, are a region of space along the border between the United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union, that are known for intense plasma storms and gravitational anomalies. For that reason, it is commonly avoided by most interstellar traffic. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I")
- During the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, the Bajoran Resistance frequently used the Badlands as a refuge from Cardassian patrols. Because of the severely limited sensor ranges in the area, the Bajorans used echolocation techniques to navigate and detect other ships. (DS9: "Starship Down")
- Because of its strategic location inside the Demilitarized Zone between Cardassian and Federation space, the Badlands became a favorite hiding place and staging area for the Maquis during their insurrection against Cardassian control from 2370 to 2373. In their first major operations, the Maquis took the kidnapped Gul Dukat to a class M asteroid in the Badlands. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I")
- When Thomas Riker and a Maquis cell hijacked the USS Defiant from Deep Space 9 in 2371, they piloted the Defiant to the Badlands to rendezvous with other Maquis attack ships prior to launching an assault on Cardassian space. (DS9: "Defiant")
- Around stardate 48300, the Caretaker abducted several starships from the Badlands , including a Maquis raider piloted by Chakotay, and the Federation starship USS Voyager, which had been sent to track Chakotay. (VOY: "Caretaker")
- A Cardassian Galor-class warship was also abducted from the Badlands around the same time. (VOY: "The Voyager Conspiracy")
- It was never made clear, but the USS Equinox may have also been abducted from the Badlands. (VOY: "Equinox, Part I")
- Bajoran trader Razka Karn also hid out in the Badlands when the Tholians were pursuing him for some unscrupulous "business" practices. (DS9: "Indiscretion")
- Kasidy Yates's freighter route between Bajor and Dreon VII often took her close to the Badlands, as well. (DS9: "For the Cause")
- In the Mirror Universe, the Badlands were also used as a staging area by the Terran Rebellion before their capture of Terok Nor in 2372. (DS9: "Through the Looking Glass")
- After the Maquis learned that he had informed Starfleet of Michael Eddington's location, Cing'ta was marooned on a "particularly nasty" planet in the Badlands. (DS9: "For the Uniform")
- When the Cardassian Union was annexed by the Dominion in 2373 (c.f. DS9: "By Inferno's Light")
- , the remaining Maquis cells that managed to escape the Jem'Hadar took shelter on Athos IV, an abandoned mining colony on the edge of the Badlands. The Maquis sent a disguised distress signal, coded as a confirmation of the launch of a missile strike against Cardassia Prime, to send word to Michael Eddington that the Maquis remnant had survived. Those few survivors were rescued by Starfleet a short time later. (DS9: "Blaze of Glory")
- The Badlands remained a strategic location during the Dominion War from 2373 to 2375. Fleet movements in the region required additional escorts to guard against ambushes from inside the plasma storms. (DS9: "Waltz")
- In 2375, the IKS Koraga was destroyed by the Jem'Hadar near the edge of the Badlands. (DS9: "Penumbra")

The Briar Patch or Klach D'Kel Brakt, which is its original Klingon name, is a region in Sector 441 containing dangerous space matter including the remains of supernovae, false vacuum fluctuations, metaphasic radiation and at least two habitable planets, one of which is a Ba'ku settlement. Ships in the vicinity must travel at less than one-third impulse power to avoid overheating the vessel's impulse manifolds. The colloquial "Briar Patch" name used in the Federation was first coined by criminal geneticist Arik Soong in the 22nd century, a reference to the Br'er Rabbit of the 1880s Uncle Remus stories written by Joel Chandler Harris of Earth. The area known as the Briar Patch contains the stars SNC 461206 and UFC 8177. In the surrounding area, SNR 093120, UFC 9364, NGC 2812 and QSR 390021 are all visible on star charts of sector 441. In May of 2154, Soong suggested the cloud as a hiding place for himself and a group of Augments aboard a stolen Klingon Bird-of-Prey, but his suggestion was rejected by Malik, Arik Soong shows the Augments the Briar Patch in 2154the self-appointed leader of the Augments. (ENT: "The Augments")
- A Son'a battle cruiser on the edge of a metreon gas explosion in the Briar Patch In 2271, the region was the site of the celebrated Battle of Klach D'Kel Brakt, where Dahar Master Kor led the Klingon Empire in a glorious victory over the Romulan Star Empire. Nearly a century later, Kor was still fond of re-playing the battle in holosuites. (DS9: "Blood Oath")
- By the 24th century, the region was part of Federation space. In 2375, the Briar Patch was the scene of the Battle of the Briar Patch between the Federation starship USS Enterprise-E and Son'a ships, following the discovery of a plot to relocate the Ba'ku. (Star Trek: Insurrection")
- The names of the Briar Patch's stellar contents and neighbors originates from a computer displayed okudagram. According to the (non-canon) Star Trek: Star Charts, written by Geoffrey Mandel, the Briar Patch is located in the Beta Quadrant, near Risa and the Goren system. However, the Star Charts also depict Klach D'Kel Brakt as being a Klingon planet near the Romulan border, since the book was released before "The Augments" aired.

Metaphasic Radiation is a form of energy which, under certain conditions, reverses the aging process of most humanoid species, thereby prolonging the life of those who are exposed to it. Metaphasic Radiation also has remarkable regenerative properties, as in the case of Geordi La Forge's eyes, and also has rejuvenating properties, increasing the metabolism and energy levels of the crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) temporarily. High concentrations of metaphasic radiation were discovered to be contained within the rings of the Ba'ku planet in the Briar Patch in 2375. ("Star Trek: Insurrection")

The Bassen Rift is an area of space between Romulus and the Romulan Neutral Zone. A dense nebula field with many greenish-hued cloud formations, passage through the Rift disrupts subspace communications. In 2379, the Bassen Rift was the location of a major conflict between the USS Enterprise-E, assisted by forces of the Romulan Star Empire, against the Reman Warbird Scimitar, which was commanded by Shinzon. (Star Trek Nemesis)

A Dark Matter Proto-Comet is a type of comet made up of dark matter. Crewman Mortimer Harren of the USS Voyager once wrote a paper on dark matter proto-comets. He theorized that a tertiary byproduct of stellar consolidation would be a comet-like assemblage of dark matter. It would be attracted to any source of antimatter and then neutralize it upon impact. He thought that the Delta Flyer was struck by a Dark matter proto-comet in 2376 when the ship was impacted by an unknown phenomenon. However, it was discovered that the ship was actually struck by a Dark matter life form. Therefore the existence of such a comet still remains only a theory. (VOY: "Good Shepherd")

The Delta Triangle is a vast uninhabited sector of the Milky Way Galaxy, located three weeks away from the nearest Federation starbase via subspace radio. The Delta Triangle has the unusual ability to cause starship sensors fluctuate in a state of chaos while within the region. Several decades prior to the 2260s, the Federation starship Bonaventure explored the Triangle, but was trapped within it. Other species that were trapped over the years included Andorians, Tellarites, Klingons, Orions, Vulcans, Romulans, Humans, Phylosians, and the Gorn. In 2269, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) surveyed the region, to investigate and possibly determine the cause for the high number of mysterious disappearances of starships that have been recorded there since ancient times. After nearly falling victim to a mouse trap set by the Klingons, the Enterprise along with the Klingon battle cruiser IKS Klothos, became trapped in a pocket dimension of the Triangle known as Elysia. (TAS: "The Time Trap")

Murasaki 312 or Murasaki Effect is a quasi-electromagnetic phenomenon located in or near Federation space. In 2267, it ionized an entire sector, including four solar systems. Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise was under standing orders to investigate formations similar to Murasaki 312, consequently delaying the Enterprise from a medical supply mission to Makus III, and sending the shuttlecraft Galileo to survey the formation. Sensor readings from the Enterprise attempted to describe Murasaki 312: (TOS: "The Galileo Seven") Negative ionic concentration - 1.64 x 109 meters; Radiation wavelength - 370 angstroms; Harmonics - upward along entire spectrum. In 2367, around stardate 44390,1, the USS Enterprise-D conducted a long-range sensor scan of the Murasaki Quasar. (TNG: "Data's Day") In TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise," in an alternate timeline, a tactical situation monitor showing progress of the Klingons in their war with the Federation depicted Murasaki 312.

The Nekrit Expanse is a huge, sparsely populated, nebular region in the Delta Quadrant containing an unknown form of interstellar gas. It is several thousand light years across and is impossible to chart due to its constantly changing structure. Because of its vast size, the Expanse functioned as a natural barrier of sorts, limiting contact between species on either side of the cloud. This accounted for the limited exposure of some species on the far side of the cloud to many of the technologically superior, and often aggressive, species on the near side such as the Borg, Voth, and Krenim. During the late 24th century there was a trade station at its periphery, overseen by Bahrat. The USS Voyager briefly stopped at the station in 2373 for provisions before beginning its month-long journey across the expanse. (VOY: "Fair Trade")
- First Officer Chakotay and Ensign Marie Kaplan performed a scouting mission of the Nekrit Expanse aboard a type-9 shuttlecraft to find a faster route through it. Their mission proved difficult as the nebula completely scrambled the shuttle's navigational readings, making it nearly impossible to get a fix on their position. (VOY: "Fair Trade")
- Inside the Nekrit Expanse, they discovered asteroid fields at coordinates 113 mark 7. They also discovered a planet that contained a settlement of approximately 80,000 humanoid lifeforms on the western continent using rudimentary structures and technology. Meanwhile, while crossing the Expanse Tom Paris suggested renaming it the "negative expanse", because Voyager hadn't run across anything interesting for days. Moments later Voyager discovered a deactivated Borg cube. (VOY: "Unity")
- Voth scientists Forra Gegen and Tova Veer crossed the Nekrit Expanse while following Voyager's trail. (VOY: "Distant Origin")
- Despite the fact the Expanse is noted as being several thousand light years across, it seems curious that the USS Voyager was able to cross it in little more than a month, especially given the ship's warp capacity and the inability of vessels to chart the region. Furthermore, it is never explained when exactly Voyager completed its journey through the Expanse. The period between the episodes "Unity" and "Darkling", however, is the most likely time, given that the former is explicitly set inside the Expanse while the latter episode is set in a completely different part of space.

The Nexus is a nonlinear temporal phenomenon. The entrance into the Nexus was a temporal flux energy ribbon which crossed the Milky Way Galaxy every 39 years. The SS Lakul as she was caught in the Nexus-energy ribbon in 2293The first known contact with the Nexus was in 2293 when two ships transporting El-Aurian refugees were caught up by it. The just-christened USS Enterprise-B responded to the ships' distress calls despite being unready for service. The El-Aurian ships were destroyed by the ribbon but the Enterprise crew was able to save 47 of the refugees from the SS Lakul. At least two people from that transport ship — Guinan and Tolian Soran — were swept into the Nexus itself during transportation, before being beamed directly to sickbay in the Enterprise-B. Captain James T. Kirk, who was a guest aboard the Enterprise and had been implementing modifications to allow its escape, was lost into the Nexus when it struck and severely damaged the ship. At the time this was thought to be Kirk's death. Soran became obsessed by the idea of returning to it, and in 2371 was prepared to destroy an entire planetary system just to return. He found that there was no guaranteed way to safely travel into it; one had to be just 'in its path'. His plan was to destroy two stars, first Amargosa and then Veridian, the resultant gravitational waves would alter the course of the Nexus, forcing it to pass through the planet Veridian III, where he would situate himself. However, destroying the star Veridian meant the destruction of that system and its planets, killing the 230 million inhabitants of Veridian IV. Captain Jean-Luc Picard discovered the nature of Soran's plan and set out to stop him, though he failed and was swept up into the Nexus himself. However, with help from the 2293 Guinan, a shadow of whom had remained in the Nexus after the rest of her left, Picard recalled his reason for being in the Nexus and set out to find help, which he found in the form of Kirk. He persuaded Kirk to return with him to prevent Soran from destroying the Veridian system and by using the power of the Nexus, they were able to return to the planet just before Soran destroyed it. Captain Kirk was killed during this encounter and was buried under a cairn by Captain Picard.
- When speaking about the Nexus to Picard in 2371, Guinan described it as "like being wrapped up in joy", a totally euphoric experience. The Nexus itself, once one is inside, causes reality to shape itself according to personal desires. Time itself has no meaning, and any reality one wants becomes fact. This makes the Nexus useful for time travel and transportation, if one is already inside. Captain Kirk's reality was of his log cabin in the mountains. He lived life with his dog Butler, his horses, and Antonia, the girl he wished he had married. Captain Picard's reality was of a family. He had two sons — Matthew and Thomas — and three daughters — Olivia, Mimi, and Madison. They lived, with his wife, in a beautiful house, and his nephew René, who had recently died in a fire in the real world, was still alive. Guinan, Soren, and the other El-Aurians are in some kind of transitional phase going into the Nexus when their ships begin exploding. The Enterprise-B beams them away at a crucial moment that brings their physical bodies back, but leaves behind some kind of "echo" (at least for Guinan -- whether or not Soren also left behind an "echo" was the subject of much debate and many rewrites, some including a Soren doppelganger and some even including a meeting between the two Sorens in the Nexus).
- The momentary sensation of being in the Nexus leaves both Guinan and Soren with an almost overpowering desire to return. When Kirk is pulled into the Nexus, there's no transporter beam to yank him away and hence, he's completely left inside. When Picard and Soren enter the Nexus years later, they too are pulled in completely and the idea of an "echo" should not apply since it was the direct result of a transporter fluke in a very specific instance. In the novel Engines of Destiny, a confrontation between an alternate Guinan and the Guardian of Forever reveals that the version of Guinan in the Nexus is the source of her constant 'feelings', as this version of herself exists outside all time, and can thus reach out to her other selves and provide valuable insight into possible actions that must be taken, although even she is ignorant of what the definitive outcome will be in the end. In Star Trek: The Next Generation - Q Continuum, it is revealed that the Nexus was created from a solar flare by a very much younger Q during an idle moment in his "childhood", but he was ignorant of what had become of it.

A Quantum Filament is a spatial anomaly. Although quantum filaments can be hundreds of meters long, they are very difficult to detect because they have almost no mass. If a filament came into direct contact with a starship, it would cause severe systems damage. Only when a filament was in close proximity of a ship could the onboard sensors detect it because of its subspace distortions and high-energy particles. The Enterprise-D ran into several quantum filaments in 2368 (stardate 45156.1) and suffered a major power loss. Several crewmembers were killed or injured and with the emergency bulkheads closed due to the isolation protocol, they were trapped in various parts of the ship. The Enterprise was also in danger of losing antimatter containment but the crew managed to restore power before this could occur. (TNG: "Disaster")

The Typhon Expanse is a region of space with unusual temporal properties. In 2278, the USS Bozeman was in the Expanse when it traveled through a temporal rift to the year 2368, where it crashed into the USS Enterprise-D, resulting in the destruction of both ships. The Bozeman had been presumed lost, and when the Enterprise entered the expanse, Captain Jean-Luc Picard described the expanse in a log entry as unexplored. However, the explosion caused a temporal causality loop that caused both vessels to continuously re-experience those same events over and over. Eventually, the Enterprise crew realized what was happening and developed a method to send a short message into the next loop with the hope of escaping the loops altogether. Lieutenant Commander Data's quick thinking enabled the ships to avoid the collision, thus finally stopping the loop. (TNG: "Cause and Effect") The Typhon sector is an area of space within Federation borders. In 2373, the sector was the rendezvous point for a Starfleet task force led by Vice Admiral Hayes, and the location of the initial engagement with a Borg cube enroute to Earth. The fleet failed to stop the cube in the sector and fought it all the way to Sector 001. (Star Trek: First Contact)

The Vyntadi Expanse is a region of space in the Delta Quadrant. A Class-M planet inside the expanse was surveyed by an away team from USS Voyager in 2373. During this mission Ensign Lyndsay Ballard was killed. The expanse is known have been visited by the Hirogen and Federation. (VOY: "Ashes to Ashes")

The Void was a region of enclosed space near the border of the Beta Quadrant and the Delta Quadrant. It had an outer circumference of 9 light years. There were well over 150 ships inside, with no stars, planets, gases or stellar bodies of any kind. However, there was a species that was native to the void. Fantome was one member of that species. Supplies that kept ships running, such as food stores, dilithium, and one of the more common supplies, Deuterium, were impossible to find in the void, unless a ship pirated other ships, usually as they were first pulled into the void. In 2377, the USS Voyager was pulled into the Void. Although told that there was no escape, Seven of Nine found that using Borg fractal algorithms, 'funnels' could be found within the void, which, if entered at the right time at least warp 8.2, would pull a vessel out of the void. Voyager had to form an alliance with Hierarchy, Nygean and Jelinian ships already trapped in order to get the collective resources to escape. (VOY: "The Void")

Chaotic Space is an area of space where the laws of physics are in a state of flux. It appears randomly and unexpectedly, and it has been observed throughout the galaxy. It intersects "normal" space at the eighteenth dimensional gradient. The region of space appears to be home to a race of aliens beyond normal Human comprehension. To communicate with humanoid carbon-based lifeforms, they alter the brain in a way so that the communications are often misinterpreted as hallucinations by the humanoids and non-humanoids. Chaotic space was encountered in the Delta Quadrant by USS Voyager in 2375, when they entered through a trimetric fracture. At that point the Borg had been aware of the phenomena for a long time, and only one cube had ever survived an encounter with chaotic space. While in chaotic space, the native aliens eventually were able to communicate to Chakotay that to escape, they would need to alter their warp field to a rentrillic trajectory and set the deflector dish to induce a para-lateral rentrillic property. Chakotay was able to make these modifications to Voyager after being shown detailed instructions, allowing him to modify the sensors using the deflector dish. (VOY: "The Fight") While speculating why this phenomenon had never been seen in the Alpha Quadrant or recorded by any Starfleet vessels, Chakotay noted that many Federation starships disappear in mysterious circumstances and may have fallen prey to this effect.

A Hole in Space was the description given to the phenomenon created by Nagilum in the Morgana Quadrant in order to entrap the USS Enterprise-D in 2365. Unlike normal space, the phenomenon was totally devoid of any objects or energy and rendered the Enterprise immobile. Nagilum created the hole in order to study the Humans aboard Enterprise. To this end it also created an image of the USS Yamato to study the Humans' reaction and killed a member of the Enterprise crew in order to understand their reaction to death. Nagilum eventually released the starship when it became clear that Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the rest of the crew would prefer to destroy the ship by auto-destruct rather than remain as prisoners of the creature. (TNG: "Where Silence Has Lease")

Spatial Interphase, otherwise known as an interphasic rift, is essentially a "tear in time" created in a location of space where its very fabric has weakened, and an overlap in numerous universes occurs. Because our universe coexists with a multitude of other universes in the same physical space, these tears may allow brief periods of time in an area of their space to overlap between universes. The dimensional structure of each universe is totally dissimilar and any use of power in one universe may cause another to be disturbed. Interphase has debilitating effects on humanoid nervous systems. Sustained exposure distorts synaptic connections in the brain, producing various symptoms: pain, tics, hallucinations, and eventually, madness. These symptoms abate if the affected individual is removed from the vicinity of interphase, but end stage sufferers become highly aggressive, and may attack others. The crew of the Defiant, unable to escape an interphasic rift, eventually succumbed to madness and murdered each other. It is possible to temporarily suppress the effects of interphase with medication that reduces synaptic activity, essentially damping the false sensory effects. Dr. McCoy developed such a drug from a derivative of the Klingon nerve gas theragan in 2268.
- In 2268, the USS Defiant became lost in a spatial interphase near Tholian space. In a rescue attempt made by the USS Enterprise, her captain, James T. Kirk, also became temporarily trapped in the interphase. Although not known to the Enterprise crew, this interphase was deliberately created by mirror universe Tholians approximately one hundred years earlier; they detonated a tri-cobalt warhead within the gravity well of a dead star to create the rift. The mirror Tholians regarded exploration of the rift as hazardous, so they sent a distress signal through the rift, to lure a vessel from the other side through to their universe. The rift connected the universe of 2268 to the mirror universe of 2154, and to at least one other universe (perhaps the rift itself) -- one completely devoid of life.
- The Defiant and Kirk were briefly trapped in this universe, but continued activity by the Enterprise and several Tholian ships eventually ejected the Defiant into the mirror universe. Because the Enterprise maintained a transporter lock on Captain Kirk, he did not follow the Defiant, but remained trapped in the rift. (TOS: "The Tholian Web"; ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly")
- The Tholians had completed a web, trapping the Enterprise, and had begun towing it away; Spock took a chance and activated the ship's engines. The Enterprise briefly dropped into the rift, and was hurled a distance away, enabling it to escape the Tholian web. At this time, it was possible to retrieve Captain Kirk from the rift, barely in time, for his oxygen supply was exhausted.

An Inversion Field is an unusual spatial anomaly that has the effect of distorting anything that approaches it. In 2371, the crew of the USS Voyager encountered an inversion field. Whilst enveloped in the field, the ship and the crew experienced the distorting effects. Captain Janeway was unfortunate enough to come into direct contact with the field, and was rendered incoherent until a way was discovered to escape the field. Once away from the anomaly, no structural damage remained. (VOY: "Twisted")

A Molecular Reversion Field is a spatial anomaly that can interfere with transporter patterns and the molecular structures of objects passing through it. In 2369, the shuttlecraft Fermi was trapped in and destroyed by such a field. Traveling aboard the shuttle were Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Ensign Ro Laren, Keiko O'Brien, and Guinan. As the shuttle began to break up, the Enterprise-D attempted to beam them off the shuttle. The molecular reversion field obscured portions of their patterns, in particular the ribo-viroxic-nucleic structure of their DNA, and the transporter re-materialized all four without it. (TNG: "Rascals")

A Particle Fountain is an extremely dangerous spatial anomaly which can destroy any starship to enter it. Over a dozen Federation starships were dispatched to study one in the Alpha Quadrant, all were destroyed. Its nature is still to be determined but Starfleet were understandably reluctant to find out. One such fountain was discovered by the USS Voyager in 2376 in the Delta Quadrant. (VOY: "Alice") The one discovered by the USS Voyager was found by investigation to be the home of the sentient shuttle Alice. She described it as her home but as to whether it created her or the fountain was a gateway to her home remains to be determined. Alice was destroyed when she failed to take an organic being with her into the fountain.

Tyken's Rift is an anomaly in space which absorbs energy of the types generated by starships, and which is not easily detected by sensors. It was named after Bela Tyken, a Melthusian starship captain who discovered the phenomena. Analyzing the rift, Tyken determined that a massive explosion would dislocate the anomaly, and, using his ship's cargo of heavy explosives, including the complex elements anicium and yurium, Tyken was able to escape the rift through the ruptured center. In the year 2367, the Federation vessel Brattain mysteriously disappeared and was discovered by the USS Enterprise-D twenty-nine days later trapped in a Tyken's Rift, located near an uncharted binary star system. Becoming caught in the rift itself, the crew of the Enterprise-D discovered evidence of an alien vessel, also unable to escape and, collaborating, were able to free themselves by releasing hydrogen from the Bussard collectors. (TNG: "Night Terrors") The graphic of the Tyken's Rift was seen again on Captain Picard's desktop monitor in his ready room in TNG: "The Host".

A graviton ellipse is an extremely rare graviton-particle spatial anomaly that travels through subspace, emerging into normal space occasionally and without warning. It has only been observed a handful of times, but is known to be attracted to sources of electromagnetic radiation. It measures approximately 1,000 meters across, and is also known to have a stable, calm core, free of the gravimetric radiation which is emitted by the ellipse. The core itself contains debris from throughout the galaxy, and is thought to be as old as the galaxy itself. The ellipse has been encountered by Humans on at least two occasions: once in 2032 when it "swallowed" the Ares IV Mars orbiter, and again in 2376, when it was examined more closely by USS Voyager. The anomaly is also known to the Borg, who refers to it as Spatial Anomaly 521. (VOY: "One Small Step")

The Delphic Expanse was an area of space about 50 light years from Earth. While its exact dimensions are unknown, Vulcan scientists estimated the Expanse to have been about 2,000 light years across in the 22nd century. At that time, it was also surrounded by thermobaric clouds that made it difficult to enter and exit. It was generally avoided by Vulcan ships because of various spatial anomalies existing inside; in some parts of the Expanse the known laws of physics did not seem to apply. In the 2130s, a Klingon ship emerged from the Expanse; its entire crew was anatomically inverted but still alive. After this incident the Klingon High Council forbade all ships from entering the Expanse. The Vulcan ship Seleya was pulled into the Expanse in December 2152; all contact was lost. The crew of the Vaankara, sent to investigate, went mad and killed each other within two days of entering the Expanse. (ENT: "The Expanse", "Impulse")
- In 2153, the Enterprise NX-01 entered the Expanse in their search for the Xindi, a race native to this region, who were believed responsible for an attack on Earth that killed seven million Humans. The Triannons called the Delphic Expanse the "Chosen Realm"; they believed it had been created by beings they called the Makers as a paradise for their eventual return. They thought the Makers were using the anomalies to reshape the Chosen Realm into a new form. Events would eventually show that the Triannons were essentially correct. (ENT: "Chosen Realm", "Azati Prime")
- On this mission, the crew learned about the existence of ancient spheres scattered around the Expanse, which are responsible for the spatial anomalies and eventually the Expanse itself. (ENT: "Anomaly")
- The Delphic Expanse had been created by the Sphere Builders as part of the Temporal Cold War; the Expanse was designed to continue growing indefinitely, gradually altering the space-time continuum in the Milky Way Galaxy to make it habitable for their kind. They were destined to be defeated at the Battle of Procyon V by the United Federation of Planets in the 26th century. The Xindi attempt to destroy Earth was also part of their plot to manipulate the timeline, implemented to prevent the founding of the Federation. The Delphic Expanse ceased to exist when the space within the Expanse was restored to normal in 2154 after Enterprise destroyed Sphere 41, one of the most important of the spheres. The destruction of this sphere caused a chain reaction, destroying the others and removing the source of the spatial anomalies that had plagued travelers within the Expanse. (ENT: "Zero Hour")
- The location of the Delphic Expanse in relation to the known geography of the Alpha/Beta Quadrant area of the 23rd and 24th centuries is unclear at best. We know that the Expanse's thermobaric clouds – its "border" – were approximately fifty light years from Earth. Some have theorized that the Delphic Expanse may have been located in the area of space that included Ferenginar and Cardassia Prime, to explain why it is that these two races, already space-faring by the time of the 22nd century, were able to go undetected by the Federation until the 24th century; presumably, the Federation would have kept some distance away from the area of the former Delphic Expanse following the Xindi Crisis, expanding instead towards Romulan and Klingon space until the late 23rd or early 24th century. This is supported by the non-canonical Star Trek: Star Charts, which, while written prior to the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise, depicts the Cardassian Union, Ferengi Alliance, Tzenkethi Coalition, and Breen Confederacy as being roughly fifty light years from Earth.

Subspace Bubble is a term used for describing the effect of enclosing an object in a subspace field. There are several forms of subspace fields that can be created around a vessel. One such variation was used by Miles O'Brien to lower the inertial mass of Deep Space 9 so that the station's thrusters could push the station towards the Bajoran wormhole faster, before Cardassian forces claimed it. (DS9: "The Emissary")
- A subspace bubble can be formed around a person. This variation was used by Seska on a Kazon raider to bypass a forcefield to access a stolen Federation replicator. (VOY: "State of Flux")
- Another variation is a static warp shell, in which a warp shell is deployed around a vessel but not used to accelerate it. The USS Enterprise-D, in 3 different timelines, used such fields to repair tears in anti-time in the Devron system. (TNG: "All Good Things...")

A Subspace distortion is a distortion of normal spatial fabric, subspace fabric is vulnerable to distortions when a mass is placed within subspace. This effect is similar to the effect of gravity, however due to the properties of subspace the mass is somewhat lighter and the effect is slightly different.

A Subspace Fracture is a rip in the space-time continuum. A fracture in subspace can cause temporal anomalies. Subspace fractures can be formed by the detonation of polaric ion energy. (VOY: Time and Again) In an alternate timeline, the USS Voyager encountered a Class M planet devastated by the detonation of polaric ion energy. The explosion resulted in the formation of subspace fractures around the planet's surface. Kathryn Janeway and Tom Paris were caught in one of the fractures and were pulled back in time before the destruction of the planet.

A Subspace Implosion is a violent destructive implosion whose effects can reach into interspace and destroy objects there. On an NX-class starship a subspace implosion can be created by overloading three plasma injectors. When the warp core is activated, a feedback pulse will travel through the reactor, destroying it. In the alternate timeline where Jonathan Archer's brain was infected by interspatial parasites, he destroyed them in 2165 by causing a subspace implosion in Enterprise's warp core. This also destroyed the ship. (ENT: "Twilight")
- A subspace rift is a type of subspace anomaly that forms when a region of space where the fabric of space itself is weakened and subjected to high levels of warp energy. Until 2370, the existence of a subspace rift was entirely theoretical and dismissed by the Federation Science Council due to the lack of evidence. Its existence would be proven that year albeit at the cost of a scientist's life. The Enterprise-D encountered the first subspace rift formation in 2370 on a rescue mission to recover the USS Fleming in the Hekaras Corridor after Hekaran scientist Serova caused a warp core breach on her ship to prove her theories about subspace rift formation. (TNG: "Force of Nature")

A Subspace Compression is an astronomical phenomenon in subspace. One such compression was found in Federation space in 2374. Starfleet believed that by analyzing it, it could lead to the Federation developing transwarp corridors, which would give them a tactical advantage over the Dominion and help them win the war. The USS Defiant and the USS Rubicon were sent to investigate it. (DS9: "One Little Ship")

A Subspace Rift is a type of subspace anomaly that forms when a region of space where the fabric of space itself is weakened and subjected to high levels of warp energy. Until 2370, the existence of a subspace rift was entirely theoretical and dismissed by the Federation Science Council due to the lack of evidence. Its existence would be proven that year albeit at the cost of a scientist's life. The Enterprise-D encountered the first subspace rift formation in 2370 on a rescue mission to recover the USS Fleming in the Hekaras Corridor after Hekaran scientist Serova caused a warp core breach on her ship to prove her theories about subspace rift formation. (TNG: "Force of Nature")

A Subspace Tear is a dangerous and turbulent subspace anomaly which can be created by an isolytic burst, a result of the unpredictable nature of subspace weapons. In 2375, the Son'a created a subspace tear in the Briar Patch after firing an isolytic weapon at the Enterprise-E. The tear threatened to engulf and destroy the Enterprise and as a result Commander Will Riker ordered the ship's warp core to be programmed for a breach and ejected. The ejected warp core acted as a magnet, pulling the tear towards it before it breached, sealing the tear and allowing the Enterprise to escape. (Star Trek: Insurrection)

A Subspace Vacuole or Spectral Rupture is a subspace anomaly, identified by Tom Paris as a type of dimensional distortion. Subspace vacuoles occur on the Vhnori homeworld, and they use them to transport their dying, using a device known as a cenotaph; they believe that this sends the person into an afterworld known as the next emanation. Harry Kim of the USS Voyager was accidentally drawn through a subspace vacuole to the Vhnori homeworld in 2371. (VOY: "Emanations")

The Subspace Vortex (also called a Spatial Vortex, Energy Portal, or Subspace Corridor or Underspace) is an extremely fast method of transportation utilized by the Xindi. It may be related to transwarp drive. Though Gralik Durr claimed they had a range of only a few light years, (ENT: "The Shipment")
- Vortices are actually capable of transporting a ship from the Delphic Expanse to Earth in ten hours, a voyage that would take a warp five vessel six weeks. (ENT: "Countdown")
- The larger a vortex is, the more unstable. Degra said he would have great difficulty creating a vortex large enough to carry the Xindi superweapon and four other vessels; he warned one or two of the ships might be destroyed. (ENT: "Azati Prime")
- The Xindi maintained a permanent one-way subspace corridor that extended 11.6 light years from a nebula inhabited by Kovaalans to not far from the Xindi Council planet. In February 2154, Enterprise used this corridor to quickly travel to the Council planet. (ENT: "E²")
- In an alternate timeline, Enterprise traveled through the corridor with a damaged impulse manifold. The particle wake destabilized the corridor, causing it to shift in time. The ship emerged in the year 2037. Fortunately, this was avoided when that Enterprise assisted the 2154 version of the ship in making alterations to the impulse manifold. The engineer Reginald Barclay believed that the Ferengi found either a wormhole or a subspace corridor before realizing that they opened a geodesic fold. (VOY: "Inside Man")
- It is safe to conclude that the subspace vortex was in some way related to the Sphere Builders as, following the return of the Delphic Expanse to normal space (ENT: "Zero Hour")
- , the technology was never seen used again; despite its apparent superiority to traditional propulsion methods and the fact that the Xindi joined the United Federation of Planets some time before the mid-26th century (ENT: "Azati Prime")

A Temporal Anomaly was any sort of phenomenon that has a direct effect on the space-time continuum. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise", "A Matter of Time", "Cause and Effect", "Timescape", "All Good Things..."; Star Trek Generations; VOY: "Time and Again", "Relativity", "Shattered", "Blink of an Eye")
- A temporal anomaly formed a barrier around the Gamma Quadrant planet of Gaia. (DS9: "Children of Time")

An Anti-Time Eruption is a breakdown of the subspace barrier between time and anti-time. The rupture being sealed In a closed alternate timeline, such a rupture was found by the USS Enterprise-D in the Devron system inside the Romulan Neutral Zone. This rupture sent out waves of temporal energy, which caused Geordi La Forge's eye DNA to regenerate, giving him normal sight. Several other crewmembers reported old scars healing, and nurse Alyssa Ogawa's fetus was killed by the reversion. The rupture was caused by the convergence of three inverse tachyon pulses from three time periods at a single point in space, and was sealed by the Enterprise in all three periods covering the anomaly in a static warp shell. (TNG: "All Good Things...")

An Energy Vortex is a spinning, turbulent local temporal continuum anomaly comprised of pure energy that occurs in space. Some energy vortexes have enough gravitational force to pull in a Galaxy class starship traveling at maximum warp. Although an energy vortex can destroy a Class-1 probe, shuttlecraft have been known to enter the vortex and travel backwards in time relatively unscathed. In 2365, the USS Enterprise-D encountered an energy vortex in the Endicor system. This vortex seemed to be sentient, and caused a duplicate version of Captain Picard to appear from six hours in the future. (TNG: "Time Squared")

A temporal Causality Loop is a special condition of time, in which time runs for a certain period, then resets itself to a point back in time, after which the events play out over again. However, afterimages of previous loops can be found to have effect on the dekyon field. This causes humanoid lifeforms to experience déjà vu. In 2152, NX-01 Enterprise encountered a small 31st century time ship. When the ship's power was restored, a temporal causality loop was created in Enterprise's launch bay due to the temporal radiation emitted from the pod. (ENT: "Future Tense") A causality loop can be caused by an antimatter explosion in close proximity to a temporal anomaly. The USS Bozeman and the USS Enterprise-D were caught in a causality loop after they collided near a temporal anomaly in the Typhon Expanse. (TNG: "Cause and Effect")

A Temporal Explosion is a detonation in the fabric of space-time, capable of destroying an entire star system. A temporal explosion could be caused by the improper use of the time drive aboard a timeship. In one timeline, the 29th century Sol System was destroyed by this anomaly. It was caused by Henry Starling's use of Captain Braxton's Federation timeship Aeon from 1996 in a secondary alternate timeline. Fortunately, this tragedy was averted by Starling's capture by the crew of the USS Voyager, before he could attempt the time jump. (VOY: "Future's End", Parts I and II)

A Temporal Inversion is a natural or artificial phenomenon that alters time in a specific area. A temporal inversion may cause time to loop in perpetuity or it may create an alternate timeline. Both ships and people can be affected by a temporal inversion, with potentially disastrous consequences for either. A Subspace fracture is a rip in the space-time continuum. A fracture in subspace can cause temporal anomalies. Subspace fractures can be formed by the detonation of polaric ion energy. (VOY: Time and Again) In an alternate timeline, the USS Voyager encountered a Class M planet devastated by the detonation of polaric ion energy. The explosion resulted in the formation of subspace fractures around the planet's surface. Kathryn Janeway and Tom Paris were caught in one of the fractures and were pulled back in time before the destruction of the planet.

Temporal Flux is a type of temporal anomaly where time itself keeps changing. The constant flow of time as we know it continuously alters, jumping from future to past to present and vice-versa. Tachyon beams have been known to help correct temporal fluctuations and anomalies. (Star Trek Generations) Based on the readings of a being disguised as a Romulan, discovered in 2369, Data determined that any species that had nonconforming cellular structures, in terms of bio-electric patterns found in a state of temporal flux, were determined not to be native to the normal space-time continuum. (TNG: "Timescape")

Temporal Rifts are a highly dangerous temporal anomaly; it is tear in the fabric of spacetime. There have been numerous encounters with such rifts, in many cases, the vessel making the encounter has been transported through space and time. The USS Bozeman entered a temporal disturbance in the Typhon Expanse in 2278, and traveled to the year 2368, where it collided with the USS Enterprise-D and started a temporal causality loop. (TNG: "Cause and Effect")
- The Enterprise-D encountered a temporal rift-like phenomenon in the region of Archer IV in 2366. The rift was identified as a Kerr loop formed from superstring material. Such a structure requires high-energy interaction in a small area of space in order to be formed, such as the detonation of a volley of photon torpedoes. Although sensors seemed to register a vessel emerging, readings quickly vanished, and the phenomenon collapsed shortly after. A temporal rift. The rift had, in fact, transported the USS Enterprise-C and its crew from 2344 and the Narendra system. The disappearance of the vessel from its proper place in time caused the formation of an alternate timeline, which was resolved by taking the Enterprise-C back through the rift, leaving no direct evidence of the temporal upheaval. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise")
- The creation of artificial temporal rifts allowed certain 29th century Starfleet vessels to travel through time. The Aeon used a temporal rift to travel back to 2373 in order to destroy USS Voyager. When the rift destabilized, both Voyager and Aeon were pulled in by the gravimetric forces, ending up in the 20th century. (VOY: "Future's End, Part I" and "Part II")

A Temporal Shift is an event in which a person or thing is transported out of their timeline into another point within the space-time continuum. An example of such a phenomenon occurred in 2371, on stardate 48579.4, in the Delta Quadrant. The crew of the Federation starship Voyager detected a wormhole, which they used to make contact with Romulan scientist Telek R'Mor in the Alpha Quadrant. R'Mor eventually agreed to beam over to Voyager and back to his vessel, stating that he would arrange a transport vessel to take the lost crew back home. However, upon arrival, Lieutenant Tuvok realized that the wormhole was a rift in time as well as space, and that Telek R'Mor was actually from 2351, 20 years in the past. (VOY: "Eye of the Needle")

A Temporal Displacement is a temporal phenomenon in which a certain element from one time period is misplaced into another time period. If not corrected, a temporal displacement could have devastating effects to the timeline.

Interference Phenomena

INTERFERENCE PHENOMENA
When starship crews encounter interference phenomena, they sometimes find that they interfere with the ship's ability to use systems such as sensors or communications, to pilot the vessel, or to transport personnel onto or off of the ship. The worst or strongest of such phenomena may pose an actual danger to the ship itself.

ASTEROIDS, METEORS & COMETS
Asteroids are irregularly-shaped rocky objects. The largest ones are sometimes referred to as planetoids, but most are nowhere near as large as even the smallest moon, much less an actual planet. Often grouped into belts or fields, they are usually spatial debris left from the destruction of a planet, moon, or similar object. The Sol System's asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, is a classic example of the phenomenon; it contains thousands of asteroids ranging from pebble-size to planetoid-size.
- Usually asteroids pose little threat to a starship, since sensors can detect them from a long way away. In a space combat situation, they may actually prove helpful, since large enough ones often make excellent cover for fast-moving starships. A starship can have a difficult time negotiating an asteroid field, due to how tightly packed together the asteroids are. Traveling through one can only be attempted at impulse speeds, of course; trying to pass through one at warp speed would almost certainly lead to a collision which would destroy the ship. This creates difficulties for Shipboard Flight Control Systems to pass through or fight in an asteroid belt safely. Dramatic Failure means the ship collided with an asteroid. Comets combine the threat of Planetoids with the interference of Nebulae.

ATMOSPHERES
Atmospheres can have many effects on ships which are not built to withstand them. Atmospheres can act as interference of just about any Strength depending on their composition and nature. Stormy weather, atmospheric ionization or radiation can make using sensors, transporters, and communications very difficult or impossible. Atmospheric pressure can cause damage to the hull. A Class G or H planet's atmosphere might have a magnitude of 1-20; a Class L or M planet, 1-35; a Class J or Y planet, 20-90. The upper layers of an atmosphere are weak, but the further a ship descends, the more pressure and stress it will subject itself to. The upper layers of a Class J atmosphere might only be magnitude 1-30 stress; descending just a few hundred kilometers quickly raises that to 60-90. Atmospheres weaken or disrupt shields.

CHAOTIC SPACE
This rarely-encountered and poorly-understood phenomenon is a region of space in which the normal laws of physics do not apply. As a result, a ship's equipment rarely functions well when operating within, or attempting to penetrate, chaotic space; furthermore, the gravimetric shear and other results of the warping of normal physical laws which accompany chaotic space can easily damage a ship.

COSMIC STRINGS
A cosmic string is a body of almost infinitely dense matter stretched into an almost infinitely thin filament no wider than a proton. Despite its size, it can have the gravitational pull of dozens or hundreds of stars. The decay of atomic particles along the string's event horizon causes the emission of a characteristic set of subspace frequencies—but a ship may not be able to detect those emissions in time to avoid getting caught in the string's gravitational pull. The effects of cosmic strings vary. A ship which gets too close to them may suffer the effects of level 85-100 gravimetric shear, or may end up trapped in the string's pull and slowly, but surely, get dragged to its destruction. A ship which runs into a cosmic string will almost certainly suffer tremendous damage.

GRAVIMETRIC ANOMALIES
Numerous gravitic phenomena can have an effect on a ship's ability to function properly. Perhaps the most common, and most dangerous, of these are the waves of gravitic force usually referred to as gravimetric shear (or gravimetric distortions). Gravimetric shear creates stress in starships and other physical objects in space, often tearing them apart. Gravimetric shear is rated in magnitude from level 1 to level 100. Each level does damage to a ship, against which usually only a ship's SIF provides protection. Starship's shields can be modified to reinforce the SIF against such damage, allowing a ship to survive strong gravimetric shear with little or no damage. In some regions, such as globular clusters, gravimetric interference also causes navigation problems. Unless the Conn succeeds with a Routine Shipboard Flight Control Systems, the interference prevents the ship from locking to coordinates and traveling in the desired direction. Failure prevents coordinate lock; Dramatic Failure sends the ship off on the wrong course (and possibly causes some gravimetric shear damage).

ION STORMS
Ion storms are spatial phenomena in which regions of space suffer intense bombardment by charged particles. Ion storms are rated in levels from 1 to 10, and sometimes higher. A storm's rating indicates its strength as a form of interference for sensors, communications, flight control, transporters, and similar systems. Ion storms of levels 6 and higher can cause damage to ships as well. Shields may or may not protect against the damage, depending on the nature of the storm, but Resistance and the SIF always will.

NEBULAE
Nebulae are clouds of interstellar gas and dust. They range in size from relatively small (about 5 cubic Light-Seconds) to immense (hundreds of cubic Light-Seconds). Starfleet organizes nebulae into classes which are numerically designated (Class 1, Class 7, and so on), though some officers prefer the older letter designation system (Class K, Class T). The accompanying table describes the different classes of nebulae and their effects as interference to sensors, communications and other such systems (sometimes even flight control). In addition to the listed effects, nebulae often affect the functioning of cloaking devices. Combat within a nebula is often a nail-biting exercise in deadly tension. Since it will have difficulty detecting, or be unable to detect, its opponent with sensors, a ship will have to rely on the naked eye to see a ship close up, or find some other way to locate the foe (and hide from him at the same time). Sometimes weapons don't work properly either, forcing a ship to jury-rig a replacement or find some other unusual way to damage the enemy. It's a dangerous cat-and-mouse game which only the clever, daring, and perceptive survive.

NUCLEONIC WAVEFRONTS
Nucleonic wavefronts are massive energy surges through space which can carry ships and many other objects along in their wake. They're rated in levels from 1 to 12. For each level of magnitude, a wavefront travels about 18,000-25,000 kilometers per second and is about .3-.5 light-years long, broad, and deep. A ship can use an "inverse warp field" to "anchor" itself and prevent the wavefront from moving it; this requires hours of work in the warp core and a Moderate Propulsion Engineering Warp Drive Feat. A ship anchored against a wavefront generally suffers no ill effects. A ship moved by one, however, gets tossed around like a leaf in a breeze. It takes damage only the SIF protects against, and crewmembers may suffer injuries from being tossed around inside.

PLASMA STORMS
Also known as plasma disruptions, plasma storms are violent energy phenomena or discharges in space. They not only interfere with ships' systems, but can pose substantial danger to the integrity of the ships themselves. Some regions of space, such as the "Badlands" in the Bajor Sector, experience frequent (or constant) plasma storms, but in most areas they are, fortunately, rare. Plasma storms are rated in levels from 1 to 10, and sometimes higher. Ion storms are spatial phenomena in which regions of space suffer intense bombardment by charged particles. A storm's rating indicates its strength as a form of interference for sensors, communications, flight control, transporters, and similar systems. Ion storms of levels 6 and higher can cause damage to ships as well. Shields protect against some of the damage, depending on the nature of the storm, but Resistance and the SIF always will.

PULSARS
A pulsar is a rapidly-spinning neutron star which emits powerful pulses of energy as it spins. The energy can be of any wavelength—visible light, radio, X-rays, or anything in between. Starfleet rates them in classes from 1 to 10 (and sometimes higher). A pulsar's class indicates the Strength of its interference with sensors and communications if a ship gets too close. Provided a ship keeps its distance, there's no interference effect; in fact, pulsars serve as natural navigation beacons.

QUANTUM SINGULARITIES
Better known as "black holes," quantum singularities are stars which have collapsed past neutron star stage. Their gravity is so immense (comparable to a hundred billion Earth gravities) that not even light can escape them. As dust, gas, and energy spiral down into them, it creates an accretion disk which sometimes marks the singularity's presence. The gravimetric distortions and X-ray emissions created by a quantum singularity can easily interfere with a ship's systems, damage it, or pull it into the black hole to be destroyed. If a ship touches or crosses the "event horizon" where the singularity's gravitic pull becomes strong enough to move the ship, it's in danger of damage or destruction. Apply the rules for gravimetric anomalies to determine interference and damage to the ship, and consider the singularity's "pull" like an extremely powerful tractor beam (one so strong that the usual methods of breaking free are generally ineffective). Escaping the pull of a black hole requires creativity and skill, and can be an adventure in and of itself! Quantum singularities also strain the space-time fabric. They can activate chronitons or pull ships through time.

SHOCKWAVES
Some spatial phenomena emit waves of force and energy which are referred to as shockwaves. The collapse of a star or other massively powerful explosions is most likely to create shockwaves. Shockwaves are rated in levels ranging from 1 to 20. When a wave impacts a ship or other object, it does massive damage. Shields may or may not offer protection against shockwaves, depending on the types of energy they include. A level 12 shockwave is usually enough to destroy everything in an average-sized solar system and/or render all planets in that system uninhabitable.

SOLAR FLARES
Sometimes a star emits flares of radiation and plasma. These powerful solar discharges are rated in terms of their class (A through D) and magnitude (1 through 20). The accompanying table indicates the size of a flare, by class, and the typical magnitude of various classes of flares. It's usually best simply to assume that the flare destroys everything in its path, rather than worrying about precise amounts of damage.

SUBSPACE ANOMALIES
The phenomenon known as subspace, which makes so many of the Federation's technological marvels possible, can also hamper them on occasion. Subspace has displayed a wide variety of recorded anomalies and other problems which can interfere with a ship's systems, damage it, allow hostile subspace life-forms access to normal space, and the like. Virtually any problem or any magnitude can be attributed to some form of subspace interference. Some of the recorded types of subspace anomalies include:
- Subspace compression (affects a ship similar to powerful gravimetric shear)
- Subspace corridors (suck in ships with warp fields and propel them at tremendous velocities, such as 40 light-years per minute; a resonance pulse will alter a ship's shield harmonics and push it out of the corridor)
- Subspace field distortions (the effect of a warp drive on subspace; can sometimes be tracked)
- Subspace interphase pockets (where subspace intrudes into normal space, often allowing subspace life-forms or other phenomena into normal space)
- Subspace rifts or ruptures ("rips" in subspace which pull other objects into them to be torn apart, similar to a very low-strength quantum singularity or some forms of gravimetric shear)
- Subspace shockwaves (which can easily damage or disrupt the functioning of ships' systems, but have much less of an effect on physical objects such as planets or ships themselves)
- Subspace turbulence (prevents establishment of stable warp fields, thus making warp travel impossible)
- Subspace vacuoles (similar in some ways to wormholes).