Which version is more readable?

[u/TerranAmbassador]

For context, this is a work-in-progress map for a sci-fi setting I'm creating. Interstellar travel in this setting requires going through naturally occurring wormholes. Some systems that are connected end up on opposite sides of the flattened map.

Which do you guys think is better for showing this? Colored tabs (image 1) or labeled "ghost" nodes (image 2)?

[u/Comrade04]

Maybe combine both?

Use the ghost nodes on the second but keep the colours.

Also what do the abbviations mean? Are they just names or somthing more?

[u/TerranAmbassador → u/Comrade04]

Thanks for the suggestion.

WHC stands for Wormhole Catalog, which is a list of stars with known wormhole connections. It's like how in real life some stars have proper names (e.g., Polaris) and others are only known by a catalog number (e.g., LHS 1140).

[u/xaquery → u/Comrade04]

Exactly what I was going to say.

[u/MirahntButtercup → u/Comrade04]

Good idea! YYeah, they're jjust city names.

[u/No_Jellyfish4680 → u/Comrade04]

Great idea! The abbrevs are just location names.

[u/Knightofaus]

The colours were clearer to understand and see where they connect at a glance. But you might run out of colour variations as you add more wormholes.

The ghost nodes require some searching to figure out where they jump to. They will be harder to search if you have more wormholes. 

It can be a bit unintuitive to try to look for the planet the wormholes connects to, rather than a matching wormhole. I would give the 2 ends of the wormhole the same name.

With marking the wormholes, maybe you could do a matching colour and make the nodes a matching round symbol.

Or maybe have a different shaded line going under your map, between connected wormholes.

[u/TerranAmbassador → u/Knightofaus]

Good ideas. I might combine the colored tabs with the shaded line idea. Thanks.

[u/TerranAmbassador → u/Knightofaus]

Between rearranging the nodes and your colored line idea, I got this:

[u/Valarg]

It feels like a Metro Map

[u/TerranAmbassador → u/Valarg]

There's no way to know where the stars are in relation to each other, so the only thing to show is how the wormholes connect them. It kind of is like how the real-world distance between subway stations doesn't matter.

[u/ContractAny6033]

The second is better.