Yavin is a fictional planet in the Star Wars universe. It has a satellite system
and is best known for the Battle of Yavin over one of its moons, Yavin 4,
depicted in Star Wars. The Galactic Standard Calendar was the
standard measurement of time in the Star Wars galaxy. It centered on the
Coruscant tropical year. The Coruscant solar cycle was 368 days long; with a
day consisting 360 NET degrees. Numerous epochs were used to determine calendar
eras. The most recent of these calendar eras used the Battle of Yavin as its
epoch, or "year zero": BBY, and ABY. The earliest date in the Expanded Universe
as a whole is 13,000,000,000 BBY, which serves as the year the universe was
created. Planet
As seen in Star Wars, the Yavin planet is a red gas giant.
= Fictional history = The Super Star Destroyer Knight Hammer
was destroyed here when it was diverted towards the planet's core after a
collision with a rebel vessel. Yavin 4
Yavin 4 or Yavin IV is one of Yavin's many moons. It was home to the Rebel
Alliance's main military base in Star Wars.
= Filming = In Star Wars, the scenes featuring the
scenery of Yavin 4 were filmed in Tikal, Guatemala.
= Fictional history = In the cinematic series
The Rebels established their base in the ancient Massassi ruins found in the lush
jungles of Yavin 4 following the abandonment of their previous base on
the planet Dantooine. The Galactic Empire sought to use its new space
station superweapon, the Death Star, to destroy the small jungle moon and crush
the Rebellion. A force of twenty-two X-wing and eight Y-wing starfighters, as
shown by the Special Edition, were sent to destroy the Death Star. With seconds
remaining before the moon was to be destroyed, Luke Skywalker, thanks to the
timely assistance of his friend Han Solo and the ghostly advice of Obi-Wan Kenobi
to use The Force, was able to fire proton torpedoes into a small thermal
exhaust port along the Death Star's equatorial trench, thereby destroying
the station and saving Yavin 4 from destruction.
All except three Rebel Alliance craft were destroyed in the attack, the only
survivors being Luke Skywalker, Wedge Antilles, and an unnamed Y-wing pilot.
The survivors are seen in the film when Luke disembarks from his X-wing.
Following the Death Star's destruction, a great ceremony was held, during which
Leia Organa presented medals of honor to Luke Skywalker and Han Solo.
This battle became known as the Battle of Yavin, and its date is used as a
place-marker for events in the expanded Star Wars universe. Events before the
Battle of Yavin are marked by BBY, and events that occur after are marked by
ABY. The Yavin 4 moon was also the site of
giant Massassi Temples built ages ago by the Massassi to worship Naga Sadow, a
Sith Lord who had enslaved and mutated the Massassi using Sith Alchemy. The
Temple later housed the Rebel Alliance, who used it for shelter and camouflage
during their stay on Yavin 4. The Alliance built tall observation towers
to monitor entries and exits from their hidden base.
Yavin 4 has also been established as the birth place of Resistance X Wing pilot
Poe Dameron. Expanded Universe
In Tales of the Jedi, it is stated that Yavin 4 was where Naga Sadow hid from
the Republic in 5,000 BBY and was discovered several hundred years later
by the fallen Jedi Freedon Nadd. According to the comic series, the
Massassi warriors who built the ruins used by the Rebels were brought to the
planet by the Sith Order in its early years.
In the Jedi Academy Trilogy, Kevin J. Anderson suggested that Exar Kun had the
temples built. Enveloped in the dark side, Kun elevated himself to the
stature of a god. He enslaved the Massassi and forced them to construct an
intricate complex of massive temples that were used for arcane Sith
ceremonies and rites as foci for the dark side.
In the young reader novel The Lost City of the Jedi, it is discovered, as the
title suggests, that the ancient Jedi built a lost city on Yavin 4.
In the animated micro-series Star Wars: Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker has a
fierce battle with Asajj Ventress, a follower of Count Dooku. Finally Anakin
defeats Asajj, sending her falling down a dark abyss.
Yavin 4 was the base of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum, where he
personally trained the next generation of Jedi Knights. Once Skywalker had
trained enough Jedi, this duty was taken up by the married Jedi Masters,
Battlemaster Kam Solusar and his wife Chief Librarian Tionne Solusar, as well
as another former apprentice of Skywalker's, Streen. The Praxeum was
destroyed by the Yuuzhan Vong, during their invasion of the moon in 26 ABY.
The Praxeum was eventually relocated to the ancient Jedi homeworld, Ossus. The
original Praxeum was the main setting of the Young Jedi Knights series, based on
Skywalker's teenage niece and nephew, Jaina and Jacen Solo.
Yavin 4 appears in the downloadable content for the video game Star Wars:
Knights of the Old Republic. Yavin 4 has also been added in the
latest expansion of the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. Titled "Shadow
of Revan", the expansion establishes a connection with the previous game.
According to the Keeper of the Holocron, Leland Chee, Yavin 4 is the correct
spelling, not Yavin IV. Real-world relevance
Since the 1990s, astronomers have discovered numerous extrasolar planets.
Many of these planets have masses of order that of Jupiter and so some
presumably could resemble Yavin. No extrasolar planetary satellites have yet
been discovered because such objects are extremely difficult to detect with
current technology. However, both Jupiter and Saturn have large
satellites, and Saturn's satellite Titan is enshrouded in a dense atmosphere, so
it is quite conceivable that extrasolar gas giants, orbiting in their stars'
habitable zone, could have habitable satellites. One of the most intriguing
extrasolar planets in this respect is HD 28185 b, another one is 55 Cancri f.
See also List of Star Wars planets and moons
References External links
Yavin Prime on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars wiki
Yavin 4 on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars wiki
Yavin 13 on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars wiki