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Attempts to answer a ‘Star Wars’ conundrum 45 years in the making inevitably results in physics being applied to fiction

'That's no moon' takes on a whole different meaning.

The Death Star firing laser
via Lucasfilm

Presiding over a franchise that’s as old and popular as Star Wars means that almost every question you could possibly think of has been addressed at one point or another, but we’d be severely underestimating the galaxy far, far away community if we assumed that they’ve burned through that particular form of fan speculation completely.

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If anything, the passage of time has only assured that the questions they come up with get stranger and stranger. In this particular instance, the community has come together to ponder a very disturbing thought: How on Tatooine did a space station as expansive and looming as the Death Star even move through space?

When you think about it, it’s actually a question you may have entertained on and off over the past couple of decades. The Death Star can conveniently appear where the Imperial Armada wants it, and we know that it’s equipped with hyperspace drives to make lightspeed jumps, but how do those mobility functions work?

The Death Star doesn’t move, so say some of the fans, but rather lurks through space at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Comment
byu/rlkaf from discussion
inStarWars

The weapon of mass destruction is a planetoid, so it makes sense if it adheres to the laws of general relativity. In this case, the Death Star gets into the orbit of a larger planet and just waits until the target comes in range, just as they did with the Rebel base on Yavin.

Comment
byu/rlkaf from discussion
inStarWars

But hey, let’s not dig into that particular rabbit hole just now.

Comment
byu/rlkaf from discussion
inStarWars

Apparently, Disney considered depicting the Death Star jumping into hyperspace, but it understandably looked too goofy.

Comment
byu/rlkaf from discussion
inStarWars

Einstein might be rolling in his grave, but so does the Death Star, it seems.

Comment
byu/rlkaf from discussion
inStarWars

My take after taking a gander at the Star Wars subreddit? We desperately need that next movie.