Is that their own galaxy?

[Morrus]

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.

Did he claim it in a manner that suggests it's an achievement? Because a quick day trip isn't an achievement!

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.

That is most certainly the case. I agree entirely.

 

[delericho]

Did he claim it in a manner that suggests it's an achievement? Because a quick day trip isn't an achievement!

When talking about the Force:

"Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."

So, somewhere in the middle, I guess? That is, he doesn't seem to list it among his greatest achievements, but neither does it seem trivial.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

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.

I always took that to be metaphorical. Like someone now would say "I've been from one end of the Earth to the other." Now Earth doesn't even actually have ends, but anyone would understand that he just means "I've been around, seen a lot of things ..."

 

[Umbran]

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.

If I recall correctly, it is more like you can cross the galaxy on the order of days, with common hyperdrives. The Millenium Falcon has an uncommonly fast hyperdrive.

Areas are remote not because the distance is great, but because hyperspace uses paths - and it takes a long time to get somewhere if you don't know a path to it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

When talking about the Force:

"Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."

So, somewhere in the middle, I guess? That is, he doesn't seem to list it among his greatest achievements, but neither does it seem trivial.

I always took that to be metaphorical. Like someone now would say "I've been from one end of the Earth to the other." Now Earth doesn't even actually have ends, but anyone would understand that he just means "I've been around, seen a lot of things ..."

[video=youtube;ov4epAJRPMw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov4epAJRPMw&sns=em[/video]

 

[MarkB]

Just as an example of travel time, when Obi-Wan is captured on Geonosis during Episode II, and Anakin and Padme go after him and are captured in turn, Yoda sets out from Coruscant to intervene. Coruscant is at the Galactic Core, slightly on the other side of the Inner Core from Kamino and Geonosis, which are both on the Outer Rim, about 15 degrees of arc apart.

The exact timing is indeterminate, but it appears to be a matter of hours at best, certainly not days. That duration is sufficient for Yoda to travel more than halfway across the galaxy, from Coruscant to Kamino, assemble an army of Clone Troopers and capital ships, then fly from there to Geonosis in time to rescue the embattled Jedi.

Basically, travel time in Star Wars is fast. If you have a ship with a decent hyperdrive, and you're on a well-mapped hyperspace trade lane, you can cross the galaxy in a day.

 

[Dioltach]

To offer a different perspective, I think we should also consult another source:

Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Basically, travel time in Star Wars is fast. If you have a ship with a decent hyperdrive, and you're on a well-mapped hyperspace trade lane, you can cross the galaxy in a day.

That's silly. Everyone knows Star Wars starships travel at the speed of plot.

 

[Ryujin]

That's silly. Everyone knows Star Wars starships travel at the speed of plot.

And apparently in measures of distance, rather than velocity.

 

[hamishspence]

Keep in mind that the outer spiral arms themselves may be very faint - so the galaxy may be wider than apparent (and thus, closer than apparent).

That said - it's only in the EU that the rendezvous is explicitly way above the galactic plane and on the edge of the galaxy.

In the "canonverse" that thing might possibly be another object entirely - a star with some nebulosity, or something along those lines. Certainly that's how it's described in the TESB novel - as a big red star.