Galactic Barriers (Star Trek)

The Barriers are two linked phenomena that mark the inner and outer limits of the milky way galaxy in the Star Trek mythos.
The Galactic Barrier is a turbulent storm of negative energy that bubbles the galaxy perhaps keeping ships in. Or something else out?
The Great Barrier sits around the galactic core and seems to have held back a mysterious entity.
The Enterprise and Kirk's crew are some of the only people to have visited both.

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[atigerclaw]

The Barrier is a shield that keeps the Star Trek and Star Wars galaxies separate.  It's powered by Lawyers.

[Slavir_Nabru]

Andromeda and the Milky Way are on a collision course, the Milky Way just had the foresight to raise shields.

[VashGames]

It's like a tech level check. If you can cross it with your own tech, you meet the minimum requirements to not get wiped out instantly by the more advanced races out there. Welcome to the big leagues.

[TheGameGetterKuzuri]

The Q explanation is probably the most solid. They're always futzing about the place, doing what have you.

[RetroMaticGamer]

Voyager: "It would take is 75 years to get home at Maximum Warp..."
Also Voyager: "Kirk's Enterprise was half as fast..."
Kirk's Enterprise: casually visits both the Galactic Edge and Core barriers within two decades of each other

[jonskowitz]

"What's out there that we need protecting from?"

Plot-holes

[davidedens]

Consider what could be so dangerous that it makes being locked in a room with the Borg the lesser of 2 evils

[Felrika]

It's telling that Q refers to the Borg, one of the single most threatening races that the Federation has ever dealt with, as a "taste" of what's to come. That suggests there are *far* worse out beyond the barriers than even the Borg.

[DrewLSsix]

Voyager: gah! It’ll take DECADES to cross the galaxy!

TOS: hold my ill defined propulsion technology.

[jasonhicks]

In the TNG episode “The Nth Degree” Barclay takes the 1701-D to the “center of the galaxy” which is the domain of the peaceful Cytherians who presumably had the technology to return the D to federation space when they were done sharing information with each other.

[occultatumquaestio]

Since we know that Time Travel is possible maybe Starfleet from the future created the Barrier. To protect the timeline from intergalactic threats.

[TheEventHorizon]

It’s actually to protect us from the Yzhuang Von-
oh wait wrong franchise...

[QuestionDeca]

Recently rewatched some of the original series, and that gives a clue as to some of what may exist beyond the barrier(s). The Doomsday Machine (the only one encountered in Canon, discounting STO and other apocrypha) was an extra-galactic visitor to the Milky Way, and anybody needing something like that active, obviously faces dire threats.


As to whether or not the Barrier(s) are natural or artificial... I suspect they may of been made artificially, but in such a way that they are sustained naturally. The Torus being a shape that comes up a lot mathematically but rarely naturally.

[permeusnd]

Ok this has nothing to do with star trek but when walking across hot coals you should NEVER run its a guaranteed way to get third degree burns on your feet, the best way is to walk normal across them trying to disturb the surface as little as possible.

So the coals will form a layer of ash on them that acts as a insulator stopping ""most"" of the heat from reaching your feet, this is how coal walking is done.

[danmanx]

Solid episode. You're my favorite Star Trek related source ever.

[WitWP]

With that ominous ending a phrase comes to mind.

"stare into the void long enough, something stares back."

If the barriers are for protection then it would have to be a threat so great that it would unite all, and I do mean ALL factions of the Milkyway.

[MrPingn]

This is one of the things I wish was explored more in canon

[Roxor]

About halfway through I remembered the Q Continuum series of books (which I own). Glad you mentioned them. I think they have one of the best explanations for the barriers. Also, I like how they explain how The One ended up as just a head: A fight with the Q using just raw Q power to just delete bits of him.

[russellharrell]

The galactic barrier seems to be analogous to the Van Allen radiation belts around earth. If you hang out in the Van Allen belts the radiation will destroy your ship and crew but if you pass through quickly there is minimal exposure.

[MarkGast]

Capt, that isn't a negative energy barrier. What is it then? Plot Armor or worse ... a McGuffin.