Sending Intergalactic Mail: Addresses

• Addresses
• Postage
• Alphabet

Intergalactic Mail (IGM) is similar to mail sent on Earth, except you need a longer address and extra stamps. Those stamps are cancelled out before getting to Earth. You can also cancel your own stamps, like you can have your own USPS cancellation. -- This requires your own IGM number and cancellation stamp (mine shown above).

Maybe you want to send mail via IGM as well, you know, when you're on holiday on Mars or visiting another galaxy? Perhaps you've decided to take up intergalactic space travel as I have, but want to keep in touch with fellow Earthlings? Well, I can tell you how.

Here is how if you're from Earth (at least):

First, you need the Earth address:

Name
# Street
City, State, Zip
Country

Of course, different countries have slightly different addresses, depending on where you are, but we'll use this general address by the US. -- I'm sure you know how Earthly addresses work.

I draw a line below this address, to make sure the people on Earth and the people at IGM know where to read. IGM is more used to messy envelopes, but Earthlings may not be used to everything all over the place, so I advise trying to keep things as neat and orderly as possible.

After the line, I expand the address so IGM knows where to send the mail from space.

Sometimes I include the country down here. -- If you're unsure where the country should go, it's best to keep it above the line, just in case. Usually, you will know which country your mail is being sent through, and if it's within that country, you can keep the country below the line. If your mail is travelling from IGM to an Earth country and then to another Earth country, it's best to keep the country above the line.

So country, then hemisphere, and the planet (Earth). The next line is the solar system, and ours is called "Solar System," so we abbreviate it "SS." Then where SS is in our galaxy: We are on the Orion-Cygnus Arm (also called Orion Arm, Local Arm, Orion Spur, and Local Spur). The next line says which galaxy we are in (Milky Way Galaxy) and where our galaxy is in the universe (The Local Group, abbreviated "TLG").

So that's...

Name
# Street
City, State, Zip
Country
--------------------
Hemisphere, planet
Solar system, location in galaxy
Galaxy, location in universe

Examples:

US to US:

Major Tom
52 Spaceship Blvd.
Notinthisworld, ST 13723
--------------------------
USA, N.Hem, Earth
SS, Orion-Cygnus Arm
Milky Way Galaxy, TLG

US to Another Country:

Major Tom
52 Spaceship Blvd.
Notinthisworld, ST 13723
ANOTHER COUNTRY
--------------------------
N.Hem, Earth
SS, Orion-Cygnus Arm
Milky Way Galaxy, TLG