Bespin

This article is about the planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. For the editor from Mozilla Labs formerly known as Bespin, see Mozilla Skywriter.

Bespin

Distance from Core	49,100 light years[1]
Region	Outer Rim Territories
Sector	Yarith Sector
System	Bespin system
Orbital period	approx 14 years
Rotation period	12 hours
Number of suns	1
Number of moons	2 principal[1]
Major species	Humans, Ugnaughts
Population	6 million
Official language	Basic
Terrain	Gas giant (floating cities)
Surface water	None
Points of interest	Cloud City, Tibannopolis, Life Zone
Affiliation	New Empire

Bespin is a fictional planet, a gas giant in Star Wars films and books. The planet was first seen in the 1980 feature film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Since its introduction, Bespin has gained more specific characteristics in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

In The Empire Strikes Back, Bespin's floating city Cloud City hovers suspended by an anti-gravity pod.

Description

Bespin is a major source of tibanna gas, which is refined for production and transport in Cloud City and used in hyperdrive coolant for starships, as well as in the production of blasters. It is home to several million individuals, including humans and Ugnaughts.^[2]

The planet is a gas giant that is about 118,000 kilometres (73,000 mi) in diameter. Like most gas giants, it has a solid core that consists of metal followed by layers of metallic gases. Many of the layers of gas are poisonous, and the pressure and temperature are far above what a human could tolerate. But from approximately 150 to 180 km (93 to 110 mi) down from outer space, there is a habitable layer known as the Bespin Life Zone. This layer has an oxygen atmosphere with the temperature and pressure that makes it ideal for human life. It is in this layer that Cloud City is located.^[3] Bespin has a number of moons. It has a 12-hour day, and completes an orbit around its star about every 14 earth years (10,220 Bespin days).

By Han Solo's admission, his starship Millennium Falcon barely made it there from the Anoat system without the hyperdrive. Lando Calrissian, the previous owner of the Millennium Falcon, administered Cloud City and provided "well-paying" jobs for the Ugnaughts until the Galactic Empire occupied the system.

During the Galactic Civil War, Darth Vader captured Cloud City (as seen in The Empire Strikes Back) in what became known as the Occupation of Bespin.

The Jedi Knight Streen, an old gas prospector, was discovered on Bespin by Luke Skywalker and recruited to be part of the first class of the Jedi Academy. He had lived in the abandoned Tibannopolis complex as a hermit for years, trying to stay away from the larger galaxy.

In Star Wars: Battlefront, Cloud City is a playable level in which the player can pilot the cloud cars.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Simon Beecroft, Kerrie Dougherty, James Luceno, and Kristin Lund, "Planet Profiles: Bespin", The Complete Locations of Star Wars: Inside the Worlds of the Entire Star Wars Saga (DK, 2005), 13.
2. ^ Bespin at starwars.com
3. ^ Christensen, Bill. "Cloud Cities On Venus?", Space.com, 23 July 2008.

• Lucas, George; and Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, Laurent Bouzereau. Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays, 1997. ISBN 0-345-40981-7
• Anderson, Kevin J. Star Wars: Jedi Search (Book 1 of the Jedi Academy Trilogy), 1994. ISBN 0553297988
• Wallace, Daniel; and Scott Kolins. The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons (Star Wars), 1st edition, 1998. ISBN 0-345-42068-3

External links

• Bespin in the Star Wars Databank
• Bespin on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars Wiki