Naming is important according to Dale Skran who is the
author of “What’s in a Name?” in the April 2025 edition of Ad Astra magazine. Skran
argues for the importance of the people who supports space exploration have a
name for them that is respectable and influential to their cause (He decides on
“Space Advocates”). I also believe in the ability of names to influence. Since
the mapping of outer space does not have a truly official name, I came up with
a name for this kind of cartography in order to make it stand out.
The word “cartography” is itself used as the general name of
the field of study that creates maps of all kinds. However, most of these maps
are 2 dimensional and the techniques in general cartography focuses on their 2D
nature. However, I think that mapping outer space, while a part of general
cartography, has different challenges and needs. It therefore needs different
solutions and methods. This should put it in a corner of cartography that
reserved for it alone and this requires that it has its own label or name. There
are several names that are already associated with the cartography of stars but
each have a problem with being applied to the mapping of outer space.
Maps of Constellations and generally of the stars as they
appear on the sky are mostly just called “star maps”. They are flat 2D maps and
show the stars as arranged according to their up and down positions
(Declination) and left or right positions (Right Ascension). However, as
everyone knows, the stars are far away from us in the sky and each one has a
different distance or 3D component. The sky maps that are in atlases of the
constellations do not show this because few people beside a few professional astronomers,
science fiction writers and space war game enthusiasts are interested (And
then, those last two aren’t that interested). By the way, this branch of
Cartography is called Uranography (or sky writing).
Despite science fiction writers not being all that
interested in 3D star maps (SF books almost never have maps), they have come up
with the idea of something called “stellar cartography” in many of their SF world
stories. It is what people in these worlds call the making of space maps. But,
the name given to that field is, I think, incomplete as to what it should cover.
Calling a map of a planet and its moons “stellar cartography”
does not really fit everything in the field it is labeling. An interstellar map
is going to have more than just stars on it. It will have planets and moons and
gaseous nebulas and lots and lots of empty space on it. So, it seems to me that
using the word “stellar” to label this field does not consider all of the different
aspects of mapping the 3-D universe.
There are a couple other names that have been used but are
taken for other areas -
There is the name “astrocartography”. However it is strongly
associated with astrology and someone has trademarked it.
The name “astrography” is also used sometimes. But, it is the
traditionally common name for the field or area of astro-photography.
There is one name which I almost forgot because there is
only one example (that I know) of. The name is “astrometrics”
which fans of Star Trek knows. I believe the name was first used in Star Trek:
Voyager. In previous Star Trek shows the name “stellar cartography” had been
used and I could not find an official reason for the change, although it seems
to be about the nature of the science it represents. Anyway, in real life there
is Astrometry. Astrometry is the study of how stars move and has been around
for a long time. The word “astrometrics” is almost the same as “astrometry” and
means the same.
None of the more common names for the mapping of outer space
fits completely. So this is when I came up with “astrocartics” and here is what
it means:
Astro - Usually
means “star” but some dictionaries give it a second meaning of “outer space”.
That second meaning allows it to be applied to everything in space.
Cart - This is
from the archaic word “carte” which means chart or paper. I added “ics” from
the Greek suffix which means “aspects of” in order to better denote a field.
The word “astronautics” has a similar structure.
There we have it - ASTROCARTICS
- The field of study of maps of outer space and everything in it that
requires you to apply its 3-D aspect. From this word I named my blog and
business - Astrocartics Lab.
None of what I wrote here may go any further than my maps.
But thank you for your interest.
