Why Bother Hypering Around Stuff?

[Jim Raynor]

The Transwarp vs. Hyperdrive thread in the VS. forum got me thinking about something. The main reason why hyperspace travel takes any time at all is because a ship must plot a course around anything in its way, and the resulting course can sometimes be quite twisted. But what is keeping a ship from going above or below the galactic disk, then moving in a straight line across the galaxy before dropping straight down onto its destination? We see in TESB that it is possible for ships to travel a considerable distance outside of the galaxy. Besides, the thickness of a standard spiral galaxy is very small compared to its diameter. So why does everybody even bother with plotting courses?

[Kazuaki Shimazaki]

That COULD be a factor in explaining why canon hyperdrive speeds are higher. Many of those incidents involve huge (half a galaxy or so) distances, where it'll be worthwhile to take the "top-down" path. On shorter distances, the detour up is not as worthwhile, and so they have to travel slower and plot more turns, slowing their SOA

[Mr Bean]

Another point to keep in mind you also have to remeber the Galaxy while appearing to be nice and flat, STILL is sphere

So going up then out your still running a twiste course oh and I belive there is some problem from leaving a galaxy altogther from a gravitional point, not sure on this exactly

[Crown]

So going up then out your still running a twiste course oh and I belive there is some problem from leaving a galaxy altogther from a gravitional point, not sure on this exactly

Something I think in TESB novilasation or the bounty hunter tales mentions this point exactly IIRC.

[omegaLancer]

In the Shields of lies, Luke remember back on the incident after his ill famous battle with his father. and he confirms that the view from the medical frigate was of a Galaxy , not just any galaxy but the SW galaxy and that they where looking down at it ..

So leaving the Galaxy is not a problem....

[Talon Karrde]

Omega, you forget about the possibility of them being in a different star cluster. Remember the Ssi-Ruuk star cluster? Although part of the galaxy it was not known of. Obviously the Ssi-Ruuk knew of the galaxy, they could actually probably see it. Perhaps this was another star cluster that was discovered by pioneers.

Obviously you can't just leave the galaxy at will since it is an amazement to all when the YV enter the galaxy.

[kojikun]

A few things:

The "galaxy" its too bright and stuff and could not possibly be an actually galaxy. Luke could easilly have mistaken it for one tho.

However, if we assume it WAS a galaxy, and assuming it took up approximately 10-20 degrees of the sky, their distance from the galaxy would have been 0.86 - 1.72 million lightyears away. If they can cover half a galaxy in one day, this puts them 6-12 days out.

--

parallax calcs:

20 degrees = 150,000ly diameter of galaxy
360 degrees = 18 x 150,000ly = 2,700,000 = Circumference
Diameter = Circumference / Pi = 860 thousand LY

For 10 degrees, Diameter = 1.73 million LY

[Jim Raynor]

In the NJO series, how far away from the galaxy is hyperspace travel restricted to? I find it hard to believe that hyperdrives stop working the second you get to the edge of the galaxy. Besides, the Zuckuss and 4-LOM story in Tales of the Bounty Hunters specifically states that the rendevous point was beyond the galaxy. My original question is still unanswered. On shorter trips, it's easier to just go straight there, but what's stopping everyone from flying beyond the galactic disk for longer trips?

[omegaLancer]

Talon... Actually the Shield of lies, not only does Luke said that they were staring at the galaxy from a point above the Galactic plane ( a secert rally point for the rebel fleet), he goes to the same position in a small pleasure craft with a ify hyperdrive unit..

The fact is that the region that lies outside of known space is suppose to be filled by hostile races ( it quoted in several novel) and Thrawn first command from the Emperor was to seek a way to neutralize any threats from these hostile races... That why the Vong came as a surprise... First they would have had to battle races that the Empire was nervous about, second there was no warning... ( actually in one of the presequal novel we see the first probes of Vong, attacking a world that grew organic spaceships)

[omegaLancer]

here is he exact quote:

"Playing before luke eyes was the slow spinning disk of the great spiral galaxy as view from the outside, a thousand light years above the galactic plane. Luke had seen this sight once before - from the medical frigate, at the deep rendezous point they code name haven"..

Shield of lies p199 - 200

[Talon Karrde]

here is he exact quote:

"Playing before luke eyes was the slow spinning disk of the great spiral galaxy as view from the outside, a thousand light years above the galactic plane. Luke had seen this sight once before - from the medical frigate, at the deep rendezous point they code name haven"..

Shield of lies p199 - 200

Dang I hate that book. First off, it's boring, and second off, this annoys me greatly. If he were that far away would not some alien species note his presence? Also, if there were a barrier one way why not the other? I just find the logic of it odd.

[kojikun]

A galaxy is anywhere between 2000 - 5000 LY in thickness. 1000 LY above the galactic plane would not render the image we saw in the movie. The EU is demi-canon, and visuals override everything. Visuals prove it impossible for that to have been a galaxy, and as such it isn't.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

http://www.theforce.net/swtc/astro.html#spectacle

Saxton concludes that the object is a nebula, as do several other sources (The Mandalorian Armor novel, Cinefex #2, and The Cosmic Mind Boggling Book).

Also, if they were so far from away from the Galaxy, why is the desity of the star field the same as inside the Galaxy? If they were truely so far away (more than ten galactic diameters and beyond the galactic halo) there should have been fewer (if not hardly any) stars.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Oops. I just wanted to correct myself before someone else does.

Saxton actually doesn't conclude that it's a nebula, but that the issue is still "unconcluded". But the evidence still points in the nebula direction.

[omegaLancer]

There is no evident other than what the apparent distant should be.. In the Shields of lies, he said the sight reminds him of when he was on the medical frigate... Not the distant was the same... Haven was a the final hidding place for the rebel fleet and they were in dire straights..

No logical being would go to a point so distant from the safety of the galaxy, risking what ever hostile force may exist in the space between stars..
That why they where never found and safe from Vader and the empire...