Reference Point

Definition

Reference Point is a geographical location sitting on the axis of galactic rotation, above the central supermassive blackhole. Its location was defined by the Paladen, one of the two founding species of the Society Of Contemporary Races and it continues to play a role in the shared standards of distance measurement the society uses today.
The Point is defined by a mixture of real physical and abstract geometrical properties, illustrated in the diagram at the head of this article, where the galactic plane is depicted at the bottom. The Paladen themselves used a base 60 number system, which explains some of the constants within the definition.
"r" is the radius of the galaxy taken at a distance that includes all but one part in 21600 (60 to the power of three) of the total calculated mass. "h" is the height above the central supermassive blackhole such that a viewing field of 60 degrees exactly encompases the diameter (2r) of the galaxy limit as so defined. [The fact that a common Earthly angular measure denotes this as 60 degrees in an apparent alignment with Paladen numeric conventions is merely a fortunate conincidence. The angle was selected as a sixth of the circle and because it corresponded to the active centre of the visual field of Paladen optics, a measure which is not dissimilar for many land based species].
The length of "h" is used to define a standard for interstellar distances. One Interstellar Reference Distance (usually shortened to IRD) is "h" divided by 21600.
An orientation of "above" was arbitrarily declared to be the direction from which galactic spin below appears to proceed in a clockwise fashion.
Reference Point is one of two ultimate locations for the best flat planar view of the entire spiral structure of our galaxy, free of angular distortion and with the galaxy occuping the full field of focus of visual attention. An anti-reference point on the other side of the galactic core, could of course make an identical claim.
If we plug in the number for "r" and apply some simple trigonometry, we find that "h" is 155,884.57 light years (according to human distance standards). This means that one IRD is about 7.21 light years.
The Bubble is indicated on the diagram to give an idea of its position, but it should be an even smaller circle than illustrated here. It has been scaled up a bit to make it visible.

Criticisms of the concept of Reference Point

(1) As a way to determine distance
The problem with the algorithm favoured by the Paladen is that it depends on an accurate measure for "r" and whilst their theoreticians were confident in their ability to determine "r" it remains subject to change as measurements improve. This is not satisfactory for a scientific unit. The IRD was therefore rapidly standardised in technical usage by pegging it to other more fundamental physical constants, which is the way that standard units of measure tend to evolve to ensure long term precision.
(2) As the "best" viewing point
From Reference Point the galaxy may fill the visual field but it is distant. Reference Point is further away than most globular clusters. Had a wider angle been selected for the definition is might have been more in keeping with the spirit of the concept with a closer position making the galaxy brighter and allowing for the resolution of more individual stars.

In Culture

As far as we know, no one has ever travelled to Reference Point. At the fastest Flicker Drive pseudo speeds currently available (and not widely available) it would take more than twenty years to get there from the Bubble and almost all of that journey would be outside the galactic plane. By adding even more distance, some possible diversions could include a globular cluster or two and perhaps the odd rogue star, but soon there would be nothing but the terrible emptiness of intergalactic space. Provisioning and planning for a journey to Reference Point would be a monumental exercise and the scientific benefits are likely to be very limited.
There was a widely shared story that was popular amongst the Kunamaka, that the Paladan had once launched a mission to visit Reference Point but this is now understood to be a joke and tells us something about the relations between those two founding races at the beginning of the Society of Contemporary Races.
In modern times, the phrase, "gone to visit Reference Point" is a widely used insult; a metaphor, indicating that an individual or group is persuing some futile endeavour to prove a narrow technical or idealogical point for no useful purpose.

Type

Abyss