A bearing, sometimes referred to as relative bearing, is a common way to describe a specific direction in space or in a planets atmosphere in relation to a starship. (TOS: "Balance of Terror"; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; TNG: "The Defector" display graphic)
Uses
Bearings were used to define the direction at which another object or a transmission in space or in a planet's atmosphere was located in relation to the current orientation of the ship. Bearings were also used when the ship made a course correction in its current heading. (TOS: "Balance of Terror"; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) Bearings have also been used by away teams on the surface of a planet to indicate a direction. (TOS: "By Any Other Name")
In space, bearings were given in a combination of two 360-degree angles. For example:
- "111-mark-14." (TOS: "Balance of Terror")
- "341-mark-20. Range 12 kilometers." (DS9: "The Search, Part I")
- "320 degrees-mark-2." (Star Trek)
- "240 degrees-mark-6, port." (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
- "123 degrees-mark-18. Range 90 thousand kilometers." (TOS: "The Changeling")
In a planet's atmosphere, bearings were given in one 360-degree angle and the distance between the starship and the object or transmission. For example:
- "283 degrees...15.2 kilometers" (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
- "Bearing 327 degrees, distance 600 nautical" (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
Appendices
See also
Background information
The first use of the term bearing to indicate a direction occurred in Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Balance of Terror". The meaning of bearings has been further defined in the writer's guides and several reference books, such as Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual (pg. 36).
Bearing 000-mark-0 is directly in front of the ship and bearing 180-mark-0 directly behind the ship. Coming about to bearing 090-mark-0 would be a sharp turn to the right or starboard. Coming about to bearing 270-mark-0 would be a sharp turn to the left or port. The second figure after the "mark" is the elevation angle. Coming about to bearing 000-mark-90 would be tilting the ship directly upwards and 000-mark-270 directly downwards.