The Void (region)
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
The Void is a region of Delta Quadrant space encountered by the Federation starship USS Voyager in 2375. The Void covered an enormous region of space several hundred light years across, and over 2,000 light years deep, containing no stars and a form of radiation that prevented light from stars outside the region from being seen from within the Void.
When Voyager encountered the Void, the crew was facing a daunting two year journey through the region. The oppressive, depressing black nothingness had an adverse effect on the morale of the crew and their Captain, including increased reports of disciplinary problems, particularly disputes over holodeck reservations. However, this trip was cut short when the crew encountered a Malon garbage scow which showed them a wormhole that allowed the crew to take a shortcut to the other side of the region.
The vast emptiness of the region inspired Harry Kim to compose the clarinet solo Echoes of the Void during his ample spare time while Voyager made the crossing. (VOY: "Night")
In the String Theory trilogy, it is revealed that the Void was caused by Voyager helping to seal a rift in space that opened up to Exosia, the home dimension of the Nacene. As the rift was sealed, the space that it occupied in space/time changed to accommodate thousands of years of another history, and the absence of light is due to the photonic energy in that area having been drained into the rift and unable to regenerate at this time
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