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[arethinn]

why this was in alt.traditional.witchcraft i have no idea, but...

someone posted an explanation for why, in Star Wars, Han Solo talks about being able to do the Kessel run in "less than 12 parsecs". a parsec is indeed a measure of distance, not of time. but the explanation they gave was that that system or area included a number of black holes. thus, in being closer to or farther from them, it would be possible to do the same "run" in a shorter or longer net distance (like adding up zig-zag segments), and what Han was saying was that his ship and he as a pilot were bad-ass enough to be able to shave it really close.

is this actually canon, or is this some kind of made-up explanation to account for what was just an incorrect use of an astronomical term?

Comments

[twopiearr.livejournal.com]

According to the first edition of the Guide to the Star Wars Universe (which was adapted from the "Bible" that Lucas uses when determining what licences are considered canon) the Kessel Run is sort of like a relay race. A group of spice freighters begin at predetermined points, and then start moving out from those points at various speeds. The goal is to intercept each freighter and collect a spice shipment, the course having ended when you rendevous with the last freighter.

So to make the run in under 12 parsecs means that you were fast enough that the distance between the freighters was minimal, ie they hadn't had time to drift out to their ultimate positions.

Taken from the same volume: in terms of hyperspatial travel, the speed of light is the constant used for measuring. So Han's insistance that the Falcon can make ".5 past lightspeed" means that at full throttle it can travel 1.5 times the speed of light.