Grid
A grid is the finite viewable area surrounding any object in space. This is typically a sphere extending to approximately 8000 km in each direction. In other words, if a ship is alone deep in space with nothing else visible on the overview, there will be an invisible sphere surrounding that ship, 8000 km in every direction. Anything within this sphere will be visible in the overview to the pilot. An object located outside of the grid will not be visible in the overview.
All grids have an invisible "wall" surrounding them that ships can pass through into the next grid. Some grids are larger than the normal 8000 km distance: the grid around the Jita 4-4 trade hub extends about 70,000 km in each direction.
Until 2016, the default grid size was 250 km in every direction from a central object. This allowed players to engage in “grid manipulation” (or “grid-fu”), using fast ships such as interceptors to push grids out in particular directions and thereby control their tactical environment, potentially concealing ships from nearby enemies. This was a complex, involved process, but was not considered an exploitation of the game mechanics. With the extension of the default grid size to 8000 km, grid manipulation is no longer possible for practical purposes.
