Star Wars: Planet Hoth

Most people remember Hoth from Empire Strikes Back, but there is a lot more to Hoth than what was seen before Luke Skywalker took off to Dagobah to meet Yoda. When I hear the name Hoth, I think of the Antarctic, or anywhere else that is damn cold! The temperatures reach -32ºC; however night-time temperatures get as low as -60ºC. Just in comparison the average temps for Antarctica is between −10°C and −30°C, so twice to six times as cold as that frigid continent.  It is the location of the Alliance Echo Base in 3 ABY, but was lost to the Empire led by Darth Vader.

To locate Hoth, one would have to travel to the fringe of the Ivax Nebula at the edge of the Outer Rim Territories. Sounds easy enough, but as some found out, it was nearly impossible to get there. Just right outside of Hoth is a large asteroid field called Anoat Asteroid Belt. This was caused by two planets colliding and sending off great amounts of rock and land debris that were strewn throughout the system and eventually were pulled into erratic orbits around Hoth, the system’s star. Other theories such as one of the Hoth’s moon collapsing is also speculated for the cause of the asteroid field.

As the asteroids would continue to crash into each other the belt’s composition would continue to expand and the field of rocks would range from small to large boulders. Yet, even some could be compared to moons. The problem came into charting, as the asteroid belt would create a maelstrom and constant collisions meant greater hazards for those trying to fly through. Even the planet of Hoth was not safe. Meteorites would continue to pound on its icy surface. These asteroids were filled with minerals. One could gather nickel, iron, or even platinum. This would cause even more difficulties for pilots as the high metal concentration would cause distortion to the instrument panels.

Found on these asteroids were not only minerals, but crystal ferns, that were formed through heavy radiation held in a cold vacuum. They would actually form in a strange, transparent, silicon crystal. These crystals are very delicate, and a form web-like tangles extending several meters from the base and make connection with another that were carried through the atmosphere. The more it floated around the atmosphere the more rocks it would connect too.

Also when a person would examine one of these asteroids they would find frozen water, which meant that creatures would have occupied these fields. Some of the larger asteroids were inhabited by creatures known as “space slugs” or exogorths. These were giant worms, which were planted by the space pirate Clabburn the Elder, which masked his secret operations. These space slugs grew very large up to 900 meters long. These slugs also were hosts to another life-form called the mynocks. These mynocks would live within the slugs and leech off the soft inner membranes of the slug’s interiors, and this would cause thermal energy which was radiated as heat, and would actually attach themselves to passing starships to drain the energy from the passing vehicle.

Looking even further outside the planet, you will notice that there are three moons that orbit Hoth. With the three moons, the tidal pull causes major havoc to the layers of ice. It actually will tear through the ice causing jets of ocean water spewing into the freezing air. When the water freezes in mid-air algae will be formed into tall columns and glaciers. In the southern hemisphere, caves and tunnels were created through a constant seismic activity, which was resulted from a constant shift of landscape. Also, near the equator, there is a giant fissure located near the core of the planet. Here great amounts of lumni-spice is found. This spice is the rarest of all spices, and only found in several If a person was to go deep into the freezing waters

Massive oceanic currents beneath the southern hemisphere caused regular seismic activity, resulting in a constantly shifting landscape of caves and tunnels. Buried deep in Hoth’s equatorial region was a fissure, reaching hundreds of meters towards the core of the planet. In this area never exposed to Hoth’s blue-white sun was a cache of lumni-spice, a rare fungal growth.

With all the ice on the planet comes some heat. There is volcanic activity on the planet, which can be found on the surface and mountain areas. The volcanoes on the mountains can be seen as they poke through the ice caps. While on the surface, fissures open up steam vents, depositing rock minerals in the darker patches on the planet

Hoth is part of the Infinite Empire. This Empire was founded and ruled by the Rakata. They are a scientifically advanced species that used their knowledge to conquer and enslave other species throughout the galaxy. It was also a predecessor government prior to the Galactic Republic. The Rakata were amphibian feature that were corrupted by the Dark Side. The Rakata was characterized by cruelty, savagery, and arrogance. They were known to strip entire planets of their resources, terraform worlds to fit their own shifting needs, kill entire slave workforces, and to eat and defile the bodies of slain enemies.

You can trace the beginnings of Hoth as early as 4000 BBY, when the Republic suffered defeat by the Sith Empire during the Great Galactic War. This was a huge war that saw the Republic go down in defeat. This battle caused several shipwrecks to cover the floor of Hoth, but neither side could recover them. When the Cold War began, pirates began to pilferage the wreckage, but were met by the Republic and Empire forces. Also another group called Ortolans were in the process of colonizing the planet, by building Thermal power stations, to keep warm through the harsh climate of Hoth.

Hoth again became a battlefield in the New Sith Wars. A long-term battle between the Jedi and Sith that lasted 1,000 years between 2000 to 1000 BBY. This gave rise to the Sith, the decline of the Galactic Republic and a growing body in the Jedi order. Then around the time of Battle of Tatooine, a small team of Rebels established Gamma Base on Hoth. This was uncovered by Imperial Intelligence through Viper probe droids. This eventually led to the Battle of Hoth three years later.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hoth