Summary
Star Warsfans have kicked off another heated debate. But in a refreshing change, rather than dealing with whether the sequels are good or the idea of women existing in the franchise, this one focuses entirely on a fascinating technical aspect of the planet-killing superweapon known as the Death Star.
The latest debate amongStar Warsfans has brought up a topic that has scarcely been discussed until now. Of course, those same fans and their predecessors have spent countless hours going through the intricacies of the Death Star itself over the years. Even decades ago, dedicated and casual viewers alike would offer their takes on the morality of Luke Skywalker destroying such a structure with so many people inside, despite it turning Alderaan into one of theworstStar Warsplanets to live on(to put it lightly). But what about something a bit more obscure?
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That’s where one fan decided to kick things off in a new discussion. On the officialStar Warssubreddit, the enviably named userSqueakyweegee64shared an image illustrating a choice for fans. Do they think the Death Star’s gravity worked from top to bottom or from outside to in? At first glance, it might seem like an obvious answer to some. But the thing is, the apparent answer is different for everyone. It makes perfect sense that such a massive structure would have natural gravity. But on the other hand, was the station built to accommodate it?
The topic blew up in the subreddit to the point where it even spread to other sites like Threads. It’s not difficult to see why, as it’s one of those questions few would think to ask but for which many would have an answer. Several fans came out swinging, stating that the top-to-bottom gravity makes the most sense. Some cited the diagrams seen in officialStar Warsmedia. But then others more cheekily asserted that it must be true because that’show their LEGO sets are designed.
“The Lego set don’t lie, it’s the left one.”
The arguments got more creative on the other side of the debate. Fans referenced similar diagrams but also seemed to make concessions. It appears that the consensus is that the interior of the Death Star must be top-to-bottom, given how ships enter and how even the unfinished stationinReturn of the Jedishowed the interior layers stacked vertically. But on the outside, that’s a different story. Many agree that, given how laser turrets are configured, the outside does have a planet-like outside-to-in gravity. So, for the first time inStar Warshistory, everyone is right.
“It’s so confusing. Craft enter the station horizontally, suggesting left. But all of the turbo lasers and towers (including the emperor’s throne room) are positioned and manned upright along the surface of the station, suggesting right.
Canonically I think it’s left, but it’s definitely inconsistent with some parts of the movies.”
Of course, there’s always room to makethis particularStar Warsdebateeven more pedantic. For instance, gravity couldn’t be natural since a station of that size would have everyone floating around like they’re on the moon. So artificial gravity makes more sense, and if they’re going that route, they might as well configure it in a way that most people are used to for efficiency’s sake. Then again, it also blew up thanks to an exhaust port the size of a womp rat. So maybe the Empire’s engineers deserve the critique.
TheStar Warssaga is available on Disney Plus.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd with the 1977 motion picture. The science fiction franchise follows the adventures of characters (both humanoid and alien) in outer space, including those who can wield a mystical power known as the Force. Since the release of the original trilogy movies, the franchise has expanded to include multiple films and branched out to other mediums like comics, video games, TV shows, theme park attractions, and more. The IP and Lucasfilm were sold to Disney in 2012.
