Unknown Regions

Galactic Sector

Historically, Unknown Regions is the term for unexplored space beyond the known worlds. As such, this area continually shrunk in size as civilization, and the Republic in particular, expanded through the ages. The Unknown Regions remain the source of outrageous tales and sinister threats. Galactic civilization views the area as a combination of romantic frontier and a source of unexpected horror. It is a place that has produced new threats and reinvigorated old enemies for millennia. Before the establishment of the Republic, in the earliest days of Coruscant, the Rakata Infinite Empire ruled important worlds across the galaxy, from their home world deep in the modern day Unknown Regions. During the time of the Old Republic, Sith and Mandalorian foes long thought destroyed would periodically re-emerge and wreak havoc on the galaxy.
The modern day boundaries of the Unknown Regions were established with the discovery of a great tangle of hyperspace anomalies, forming a barrier that splits the galaxy virtually in two. The tangle makes hyperspace travel extremely difficult or impossible. Though its origins are debatable, it has been a natural obstacle to galactic exploration and development for millennia. Survey missions and other efforts to find reliable routes are at best slow and dangerous.
However, passage is not completely impossible. The Republic sent a well-supported, long-term expedition in the form of the Outbound Flight project. Like the majority of such efforts, it ended in disappearance and disaster. Travelers also occasionally arrive from the other side, though their appearance is often violent and aggressive.
During the Clone Wars, official exploration efforts largely ceased, with Republic scouts distracted by the war. Government-sponsored exploration began anew with the Empire, in an effort to expand Imperial space, exploit new resources or worlds, and search for any sign of rebel activity. Rebel efforts to use the Unknown Regions as a base of operations are minimal, due to the resources and time needed to find suitable locations.

Type

Galactic Sector

Location under

The Galaxy