Stardates Explained - 20260523.2053

You don't understand the startdates?

Take, for example, 20260523.2053

Let me stick some spaces in some helpful places:

2026 05 23 . 20 53

That better?

20260523 means 23rd May 2026, and 2053 is in 24-hour clock format, IE 8:53PM

Stardates in the Star Trek universe work in an entirely different way. Wikipedia has a good explanation on how Stardates work.