Hoth
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- This article is about the fictional planet. Hermann Hoth was a German general in World War II. Hoth is an IP accounting tool for Linux.
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Missing image | |
| Hoth | |
|---|---|
| Distance from Core | 50,250 light years |
| Region | Outer Rim Territories |
| System | Hoth |
| Number of Suns | 1 |
| Number of Moons | 3 |
| Population | 0 (after evacuation of Rebel Alliance base) |
| Surface Water | 100% (mostly frozen) |
| Affiliation | Rebel Alliance |
In the fictional universe of Star Wars, Hoth is the sixth planet of a remote system. It is a world covered in snow and ice, with numerous moons, and pelted by meteorites from a nearby asteroid belt. Native creatures include the wampa and tauntaun.
The Rebel Alliance relocated to Hoth after their victory in the Battle of Yavin. However, an Imperial probe droid discovered the base on Hoth, before being discovered itself. The Rebels began preparations to leave, but Darth Vader's Death Squadron arrived too soon, and the Rebels were forced into combat to cover their escape. The Empire won the Battle of Hoth.
The action on Hoth figures prominently in the opening of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
Hoth is an example of the science-fictional stereotype of a planet that has only one climatic zone. One school of thought holds that ice worlds couldn't exist primarily because arctic regions differ little from one another. Barring recent orbital changes, a planet like Hoth could not support life, as without photosynthesis on a planetary scale the ecosystem would collapse due to the inherent inefficiencies of biological activity consuming the existent biomass and its stored energy. Because the breath of the tauntauns fogged up, they were obviously endothermic, and so even if the wampas were exothermic, the biome would gradually lose energy that would not be replenished.
However, recent discoveries seem to show that life is not entirely dependent upon photosynthesis for a functioning ecosphere. Deep volcanic activity under the frozen oceans of a planet such as Hoth could theoretically provide the energy to drive the biosphere. In areas where the ice is thinnest, animals may prey upon aquatic life, much as penguins and seals do. Such an ecosystem would be almost entirely carnivorous on the surface though, meaning that the tauntauns were probably a non-native life form introduced by the rebels for use as beasts of burden. The existence of frequent meteor strikes also alludes to a relatively young planetary system, in which case the core heat of Hoth could be sufficiently high to support a thriving ecosystem.
Furthermore, photosynthesis does occur in arctic and alpine regions of Earth, despite the mistaken assumption by most residents of temperate or tropical climates that ice and snow are devoid of life. The ocean has abundant plankton, some of which is photosynthetic. In snow and ice, the rate of photosynthesis is low, but present in diverse phyla, particularly diatoms and algae. These sympagic ecosystems also include bacteria and fungi, as well as metazoans like flatworms and crustaceans.
Lord Hoth is also the name of a famous Jedi Master who led the Army of Light against Lord Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness during the Battle of Ruusan.
It is likely that his name is connected with that of the planet, but it is not known if the planet is named for him or the other way around.
External link
- Star Wars databank entry for Hoth (http://www.starwars.com/databank/location/hoth/)sv:Hoth