Is that their own galaxy?

Morrus · Nov 26, 2014

So the final scene from Empire Strikes Back features the heroes looking at a galaxy. They are many, many millions of light years from that galaxy. A bunch of galaxy diameters at minimum. Is that their own galaxy? If so, how did they get so far away from it? And why not hide out there instead of, like, Yavin or Hoth? How fast is hyperdrive, anyway? How long does it take to cross a galaxy? How long would it take to get to that position outside the galaxy?

Kramodlog · Nov 26, 2014

How long did it take to rescue Luke and build and instal his robotic hand?

delericho · Nov 26, 2014

Morrus said:
Is that their own galaxy?

Yes - that's where the Falcon is going.

If so, how did they get so far away from it? How fast is hyperdrive, anyway?

They flew. Hyperdrive moves at the speed of plot.

And why not hide out there instead of, like, Yavin or Hoth?

It's probably a last resort. That seems consistent with the progression of the film: they started off hiding on the relatively-comfortable jungle moon of Yavin, were forced by the Empire to the frozen rock that is Hoth, and now they've been driven back so far that there's now nowhere in the galaxy that's safe for them.

Umbran · Nov 26, 2014

Going by RPG information - there are a few, rarely used hyperdrive routes that go... nowhere. Such a thing would make a good hiding place for rebel forces to regroup.

gribble · Nov 26, 2014

The (somewhat) scientific answer is:

According to Wookiepedia, the Star Wars galaxy is approx 120,000 light years in diameter. Looking at the picture, I'd say it's viewed from a distance of at least 5-10 times the diameter of the object away... lets assume from distance of a million light years away.

Although I couldn't find a hyperdrive speed on Wookiepedia, I did find this site which claims to be based on Wookiepedia information and states "A x1 hyperdrive goes at about 100,000,000 times the speed of light which means it can cover about 11,415 lightyears in an hour".

From memory, the heroes are on a Nebulon-B frigate, which has a x2 primary hyperdrive - so it can travel half the above speed - or approx 5707 light years per hour.

So doing the math, it'd take approx 175 hours (7 days) for the heroes to get out to the position depicted.

Morrus · Nov 26, 2014

I don't buy those speeds. I never got the sense they could cross the entire galaxy in 10 hours, or half that with a better hyperdrive. That makes nowhere remote. Nowhere is more than a couple of hours away on average.

gribble · Nov 26, 2014

Morrus said:
I don't buy those speeds. I never got the sense they could cross the entire galaxy in 10 hours, or half that with a better hyperdrive. That makes nowhere remote. Nowhere is more than a couple of hours away on average.

Fair enough. That's the answer based on "Star Wars" physics, but if you don't like it Wookiepedia does go to great lengths to say that travel times can be highly variable based on conditions, etc. I think the above answer about travelling at "speed of plot" is the right one when it comes to a Star Wars game.

MarkB · Nov 26, 2014

Morrus said:
I don't buy those speeds. I never got the sense they could cross the entire galaxy in 10 hours, or half that with a better hyperdrive. That makes nowhere remote. Nowhere is more than a couple of hours away on average.

Bear in mind that a large factor in hyperdrive usage is plotting fairly complex courses to avoid getting too close to gravity wells and other hazardous phenomena. Once you get outside the galaxy, you don't need to do any of that.

WayneLigon · Nov 27, 2014

Morrus said:
I don't buy those speeds. I never got the sense they could cross the entire galaxy in 10 hours, or half that with a better hyperdrive. That makes nowhere remote. Nowhere is more than a couple of hours away on average.

Nowhere IS really remote in Star Wars. Look at the maps for the thing - Coruscant is near the core while Tatooine is near the rim, yet they take a handful of days on a commercial ship at best on a direct route. Most people stick to plotted hyperdrive pathways. Just like in the real world, almost nobody goes outside of assigned known shipping lanes unless they are hiding something. There are uncounted systems that nobody ever goes to.

The thing about Star Wars to keep uppermost in your mind, though, is that Lucas regularly poisons his own well; he lays down the law and picks it right back up again. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is consistent if violating it will gain a cool plot point or scene.

delericho · Nov 27, 2014

Morrus said:
I don't buy those speeds. I never got the sense they could cross the entire galaxy in 10 hours, or half that with a better hyperdrive. That makes nowhere remote. Nowhere is more than a couple of hours away on average.

Well, Han does claim to have flown from one side of the galaxy to the other. Which could be BS, of course, or it could be that the galaxy is actually tiny, or it could be that hyperdrive is indeed really fast.

Mostly, though, I think George Lucas just wanted a nice visual for the end of his film, and didn't really give much thought to the physics of it all.