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Given that we hear and see evidence of hyperspatial sensors/comms and tracking systems both in the films and the Expanded Universe, is it reaching to claim that the SW universe possesses some kind of galactic version of what we today refer to as GPS?

Galactic Positioning System?

Sure, makes sense. A series of hypercom beacons that serve as lighthouses would be necessary for navigation I'd think.

Actually, it's specifically noted in the NGVEV that the Chiss are unusual for using such a system instead of navicomputers. I'd be inclined to think SW ships orient on something like star patterns instead.

I believe Darksaber mentions that the Empire installed a beacon on a small moon/planet at the centre of the galaxy for navigation purposes... Daala then holds a meeting there. Obviously they forgot about the black holes ect.

Given that Coruscant is the zero point for their charts I think they'd put a beacon there rather than the deep core.

I recall reading (on Wookiepedia) that there used to be billions of hyperspace nav buoys scattered over the galaxy, but those were superceded by navicomps that could calculate courses without needing beacons.

It would make sense for major planets to operate their own nav beacons... however one wonders why Han didn't question Alderaans going silent on him. Then again smugglers being chased by Star Destroyers probably don't tend to follow nav beacons.

Still should've noticed there no longer was one though, regardless of whether or not he intended to follow it. Unless you want to argue the beacons are only detectable from realspace, which makes them middlin useless for hyperdrive navigation.

This ofc Assumes that the beacon for Alderaan was on the planet Alderaan or close enough to it the get caught in the blast for all we know it could have been on another planet in the Alderaan system or a satellite orbiting the main start of the system, after all planetary orbits tend to be fairly stable so all you really need is a single "fixed" point.

Another planet doesn't make any sense as that one could be on the other side of the system primary when you arrive and thus moderately useless to finding out where Alderaan is. A beacon orbiting the star declaring 'this here be the centre of the Alderaan system' makes sense however and would presumably have been far enough from the planet's orbit (and possibly at the other side of the sun at the time and thus the primary ate all the debris going its direction) to not be affected.

Stars tend to orbit the galactic core in predictable paths and planets trace predictable orbits around their stars. I don't see what's wrong with the idea of simply calculating where your destination is going to be when you get there.

There isn't. We're just speculating on how, presupposing there is such a beacon, it would be possible for Han not to notice it's suddenly gone in ANH.

StarSword wrote:Stars tend to orbit the galactic core in predictable paths and planets trace predictable orbits around their stars. I don't see what's wrong with the idea of simply calculating where your destination is going to be when you get there.

And if due to some cataclysm you get flung into deep space? How are you going to figure out a.) where you are and b.) where you need to go without something to refer to?

It's fairly important to have fixed points of reference, even if those points themselves move in some fashion. Just having a gander about you and trying to figure out where you are from what you can see isn't going to work when you're dealing with distances on a cosmic scale.

That said, there are a few options we have here:

--Either there are many beacons
--A few beacons in key locations
--The galaxy has simply been so thoroughly mapped by the Imperial era that hyperspace navicomputers have minimal need for guiding beacons

Alternatively, navicomputers use some way of 'reading' gravitational mass shadows in hyperspace travel and use that as a sort of map of the galaxy. Han stopped at Alderaan because, blown up by the Death Star or not, the navicomputer went 'welp we're here, I don't know why Alderaan isn't there but that's your problem'.

I tihnk option 3 is the one that applies. The article I read about those nav beacons said they were phased out loooong ago because navicomps had gotten good enough you didn't need beacons anymore.

The universe already has plenty of beacons in the form of large quasars, NASA already is working on a navigation system based on them. Building beacons within the galaxy would be more trouble then its worth except perhaps inside of the deep core where you might not be able to see out clearly at long ranges. Stuff billions of light years away doesn't move much in human scales when you need utter precision in your measurements.

Pure computer memory ought to work fine though for known routes, and the main navigation problem is probably stuff like interstellar asteroids and ship debris which need to be tracked and mapped constantly.