Current stardates

Captain’s log, stardate 78862.1.  

Amongst the date and time formats I’ve supported on this site is the current stardate. But since there is no consensus or single version that is accepted, I’ve gone back and forth with which to use. Initially, I used Modified Julian Dates, but then I started using TrekGuide’s formula, as that was consistent with when TNG, DS9, and Voyager episodes aired, but those episodes haven’t aired for decades. 

So when Star Trek: Picard finally used stardates last March, I decided to base my current stardates on that, which is slightly different from TrekGuide. But Picard ended shortly after. It is currently unclear if there will be any sequel. However, one reason I like them is that they’re based on the first day of a year (1945), rather than some arbitrary date sometime in the summer (1946). Star Trek Online uses a date in spring (1922) and is now six digits. Using 2323 or 2161 results in ugly six-digit negative numbers. And let’s not even talk about Kelvin stardates counting from year 0!

I’m the only one to use this version, but I don’t see many using any other version. So for now I’m counting from 1945. Since I’m defining it, I can make it incorporate actual decimal time. Now the question is, one decimal, like most stardates, or two, like Picard?

Also, I added stardates counting from 2323 to the conversions, so that one can convert dates in the 24th century. However, I’ve found that the HTML date picker is difficult to use far in the future for some platforms. (It works well on iOS, though.) It’s easier to use one of the other fields to set the approximate era, then use the standard date/time picker to refine the date. 

If 32nd century get used more on Discovery and Starfleet Academy, I might make that the basis of current stardates. These look like 865211.3, with a base date in 1158 CE!