Starkiller Base is a bit larger than Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt. If we were to compare Starkiller Base to objects in our solar system, we would find a few similar objects. According to the IAU, a celestial body is a planet if it orbits the sun (an invalid qualification, this is in a galaxy far, far away), if the celestial body has cleared its orbit of debris (like a star, for example), and if the planetary body has reached hydrostatic equilibrium basically, if it’s a sphere or not. From what is seen in The Force Awakens, I’m going to say Starkiller base is about ten times the size of the Death Star, or about 1200km diameter.ġ200km is actually fairly small for a planet, but is it too small? If we’re to define a planet the same was the International Astronomical Union (IAU) does, we have only a few things to consider. The diameter of the Death Star is known (120km), and with this we can make a pretty good guess of the diameter of Starkiller Base. In The Force Awakens, we’re given a direct visual comparison between the Death Star and Starkiller Base. It makes for a great story, but it’s completely implausible.Īren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper installation? Starkiller Base is a cool idea, but does the science behind it hold up? No. It’s time to pass the hallowed tradition of arguing over fictional spacecraft to a new generation. We’ve had nearly forty years to argue the plausibility of the Death Star, lightsabers, parsecs as a unit of time, and hyperdrives. The Starkiller gets its energy from harvesting entire suns, moving from one solar system to another to feed this massive weapon of terror. The Rebellion has given way to a new Galactic Republic, but there is a spectre of evil looming in the unknown areas of the galaxy: the First Order, a malevolent force that has built a planet-sized superweapon capable of destroying entire planetary systems from across the galaxy. The Empire is in ruins, and Yavin 5 and the forest moon of Endor both have new planetary ring systems. These spoilers won’t affect you if you haven’t seen the movie they’re equivalent to saying, “in A New Hope there’s a moon sized battle station with a superlaser” and “someone gets a hand amputated with a lightsaber in a Star Wars movie”Ī lot has happened in the Star Wars universe since the battle of Endor. This post contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
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