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- "And this is no place to be without transportation once those twin suns really start cookin'!"
- ―Han Solo
Tatoo I, also known as G1, was one of the yellow stars at the heart of the Tatoo system. A binary star, its partner was Tatoo II.
Description
Tatoo I was a G1-type main sequence binary star, sister of G2-type Tatoo II. They formed the Tatoo system with the planets Tatooine, Ohann, and Adriana. The system lied at the crossroads of the Triellus Trade Route and the Old Corellian Run in the Arkanis sector of the the Slice's Outer Rim segment.[1] In Huttese, the dominant language on Tatooine, the twin suns were known as "Gi Dopa Gasha."[3]
Tatoo I was formed when a hydrogen molecular cloud collapsed. Throughout most of its life, energy was produced by nuclear fusion, which converted hydrogen into helium. Each second, millions of metric tons of hydrogen were converted into energy within the Tatoo I's core, producing neutrinos and solar radiation. It had a lifespan of roughly ten billion years as a main sequence star.[1] Tatoo I did not have enough mass to explode as a supernova. At the end of its lifespan, stars of its kind entered a red giant phase, its outer layers expanding as the hydrogen fuel in the core is consumed and the core contracts and heats up.
Culture
Children on Tatooine would often tell stories of huge, powerful dragons that would live inside the two great suns that would shine down upon them. Smaller cousins of these dragons were to live in the fusion furnaces that powered many types of machinery and vehicles.[4]
As a slaveboy, Anakin Skywalker would climb to the roof of his hovel at night, lie back, and imagine he was as far away from Tatooine as possible. A decade later, in 23 BBY, an 18-year-old Skywalker found himself in the Fondor system, 40,000 light-years away from the hovel's roof, gazing up at the binary stars that he knew to be Tatoo I and Tatoo II—the twin suns of his home planet—and he imagined the day when he would return to Tatooine and free his enslaved mother, Shmi.[5]
History
- See also: History of the Tatoo system
Some early explorers thought the first planet of the system to be the third star, because of its blazing light reflected by its sodium-rich deserts.[2] Tatooine had a strong presence in the Force, which led the Infinite Empire of the Rakata to the star system of Tatoo I. The collapse of their empire in 25,200 BBY caused the system to left alone for some millennia. The Galactic Republic explored the segment of the Slice in which Tatoo I was located during the Great Manifest Period and the Indecta Era. By 1004 BBY, the nearby region belonged to the Brotherhood of Darkness, including Hutt Space, a large region of the known galaxy controlled by the Hutt species. After the Seventh Battle of Ruusan in 1000 BBY the region remained in Hutt control until the reign of the Galactic Empire. During the Galactic Civil War the system changed hand several times: it's region was taken from the New Republic by the Empire during the Thrawn campaign, but was left after the Grand Admiral's death. Later the space around the Tatoo I was controlled by the Galactic Alliance, until the Sith–Imperial War 127–130 ABY, when the Fel Empire conquested much of the known galaxy, but was quickly replaced by Darth Krayt's Sith Empire.[1]
Behind the scenes
Tatoo I was created for Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, but technically it appeared first in the novelization of the film in December 1976, half a year before the premiere.
Although the famous binary sunset scenes both depicted the two suns as being of similar size, other sources show one sun significantly larger than the other. No explanation for this has been given.
Appearances
Non-canon appearances
- Old Wounds
- "The Princess Leia Diaries" — Star Wars Tales 11
- "Sandstorm" — Star Wars Tales 15
- "Falling Star" — Star Wars Tales 15
- "Skippy the Jedi Droid" — Star Wars Tales 1
- "Melvin Fett" — Star Wars Tales 20
- LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
- "Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc" — Star Wars Tales 6
Sources
- A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
- Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game
- Star Wars Gamemaster Kit (Indirect mention only)
- Galaxy Guide 7: Mos Eisley
- Star Wars Technical Journal of the Planet Tatooine
- The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook
- Star Wars Technical Journal
- Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded
- The Illustrated Star Wars Universe
- The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (Picture only)
- 1996 Topps Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (Card: Swoop) (backup link (http://www.rebelscum.com/photo.asp?image=/sote/soteTC087.jpg) not verified!) (Picture only)
- Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Embossed Metal Collector Cards (Card: ISSUE 1: Xizor's Plan Revealed) (backup link (http://www.rebelscum.com/photo.asp?image=/sote/soteMIcards1bk.jpg) not verified!) (Picture only)
- Inside the Worlds of Star Wars: Episode I
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 3 (TAT1, Tatooine)
- Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy
- Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars: Complete Cross-Sections
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary
- Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Essential Atlas
- The Written Word
- Star Wars: The Old Republic Explorer's Guide
- Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: The Card Game — Edge of Darkness (Card: Moisture Farmer) (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars: Force Collection (Card: Luke Skywalker (Special)) (Picture only)