TATOOINE

'Tatooine'
Distance from Core 43,000 light years
Region Outer Rim Territories
Oversector Oversector Outer
Sector Arkanis Sector
System Tatoo
Number of suns 2
Number of moons 3
Population 200,000
SpeciesHumans, Jawas, Tusken Raiders
Points of Interest Anchorhead, Mos Eisley, Mos Espa
Surface water 1%
Affiliation Hutt, Galactic Empire, New Republic

In George Lucas's ''Star Wars'' saga, 'Tatooine' is the home planet of the Skywalker family and Ben Kenobi, the setting for much of the action in the saga's films (as well as several of the novels and other pieces of written fiction) and one of the most iconic Star Wars planets. The planet is seen in all the Star Wars movies except for episode five, The Empire Strikes Back.
Tatooine is a planet in a binary star system (the two suns are named Tatoo I & Tatoo II), inhabited by poor locals who are mostly moisture farmers. The planet has been the site of repeated and failed attempts at colonization. The planet was under the stranglehold of the Sith for thousands of years. The planet also was the area of many battles during the Great Sith Wars which occurred 4,000 years before the Phantom Menace. During the prequel-era, it was ruled for a long period by the Hutts, being beyond the reach of the Galactic Republic. After the fall of the Republic, the Galactic Empire established a token presence on Tatooine, but the crime lord Jabba the Hutt still retained control of the planet.
Tatooine has several sizable settlements, the largest of which is the spaceport Mos Eisley, widely known for its rough-and-tumble nature and pervasive criminal underworld. Other settlements include Bestine (the nominal capital of the planet, where the Empire's government is located), Anchorhead, Tosche Station, Mos Entha, Wayfar (near Jabba's Palace), and Mos Espa, home of a sector-famous podracing track.
Because Tatooine is not a member of the Republic, Republic Credits were rarely used by merchants on the planet, who preferred to use the Huttese currency system, which consists of (in descending order of value) Peggats, Truguts and Wupiupi.
Notable geological features include the Dune Sea, an enormous desert, and the Jundland Wastes, a rocky region. Despite the planet's extreme aridity, some forms of life do thrive on Tatooine, including the rodent-like Womp rat, elephant-like bantha, and the enormous, fearsome Krayt Dragon.
Tatooine's twin suns, Tatoo I and Tatoo II.

Tatooine is also home to two apparently native sentient bipedal species: Jawas, pygmy-like scavengers of technology, and Tusken Raiders, also known as Sand People, who are mysterious, reclusive, and extremely hostile to outsiders. Both races wear fully concealing robes keeping their true forms hidden from outsiders (it's stated in the Expanded Universe that Jawas are rodent-like and vaguely hinted that the Jawas and Sand People share a common ancestor). It is implied in that their common ancestor are Humans, and that Tatooine is the original human homeworld.
Tatooine was once a member world of the pre-Republic Infinite Empire. Tatooine once had large oceans and a world-spanning jungle. This biosphere was destroyed by an orbital bombardment by the Rakata that "glassed" the planet (that is, fused the silica in the soil into glass, which then broke up over time into sand) and boiled the oceans away. Tatooine is also one of the planets visited in the award-winning computer role-playing game ''.

Contents
Intelligent lifeforms
Flora
Fauna
Locations
Anchorhead
Bestine
Dune Sea
Great Pit of Carkoon
Jabba's Palace
Jundland Wastes
Moisture farms
Mos Eisley
Mos Eisley Cantina
Mos Espa
Tosche Station (Toshi Station)
Tatooine's namesake
Tatooine in other Pop Culture
Tatooine in Science
Appearances
See also
References
External links

Intelligent lifeforms


A Tusken Raider, a native inhabitant of Tatooine.


Humans — Settlers

Hutts — Slug-like crime lords

Jawas — Scavengers and traders, particularly in droids

Tusken Raiders (Sand People) — Violent nomadic tribes

Toydarians

Banthas; Large, ox-like creatures

Sarlacc; A living mouth in the ground

Flora



★ A form of mushrooms (They often grow on the moisture vaporators used by moisture farmers).

★ Trees; but they are extremely rare. Most were planted by an exiled Ithorian.

★ Non-native crops cultivated by moisture farmers.

Fauna



Banthas

Dewbacks

Eopies

Krayt dragons

Rontos

Sarlacci

Scurriers

Womp rats

Wraids

Worrts
Some critics have seen Lucas's use of a desert planet with aborigines reminiscent of the Bedouin as excessively derivative of Frank Herbert's Arrakis in the ''Dune'' series of novels.

Locations


Anchorhead

'Anchorhead' is a fictional settlement located a few miles east of the Lars family home, south of the bustling spaceport of Mos Eisley, and primarily consists of moisture farmers.
Bestine

'Bestine', the "capital" of Tatooine, is situated far west of Mos Eisley near the south-western Dune Sea. It was also one of the earliest settlements on the planet but never thrived economically, sharing the same problems as many other settlements on the dry world. The Galactic Empire eventually established its base of operations here and placed its regional governor in the city's Main Hall. It is featured prominently in the MMORPG '' (SWG).
Dune Sea

The 'Dune Sea' is a huge sandy desert, near the cities of Anchorhead, Mos Eisley and Tosche Station. It is inhabited solely by Tusken Raiders, Jawas, wraids, dewbacks and the occasional Krayt dragon. Moisture farmers often have many moisture vaporators located in the Dune Sea to collect the scarce water vapor from the air.
It was to this area that Obi-Wan Kenobi went after the destruction of the Jedi Temple and the corruption of Anakin Skywalker. At his home near the Dune Sea, Kenobi communed with the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn, while keeping watch over young Luke Skywalker, who lived on the nearby Lars Homestead.
The Dune Sea was also home to the Great Pit of Carkoon, location of the great Sarlacc creature.
Great Pit of Carkoon

The 'Great Pit of Carkoon' is located within the Dune Sea. It is a large depression in the desert sand created by the Sarlacc, a large omnivorous creature that uses the pit to capture prey. The Great Pit of Carkoon is the site of a skirmish that takes place between Luke Skywalker and the forces of Jabba the Hutt. The Hutt crime lord and most of his minions are killed during the battle.
Jabba's Palace

Jabba the Hutt's Palace on Tatooine.
'Jabba's Palace', made of stone and metal, is located in the desert known as the Dune Sea and was home to the gangster Jabba the Hutt. It is introduced as the main setting of the beginning of '' when Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, R2-D2, and C-3PO rescue Han Solo from Jabba. Jabba's palace also figures as the main setting in a compilation of intertwined short stories ''Tales From Jabba's Palace'' edited by Kevin J. Anderson. Jabba's Palace is also a playable area in the video game . The palace was originally a monastery built by the mysterious B'omarr monks, who still inhabit parts of the palace.
Jundland Wastes

The 'Jundland Wastes' occupy most of Tatooine's temperate area, a rocky region known for its numerous cliffs and a multitude of hidden dangers.
Most of Tatooine's indigenous creatures can be found in the 'Jundland Wastes' including, Banthas, Dewbacks, and the fearsome Krayt Dragons. The nomadic Sandpeople, also called Tusken Raiders, live in the region as well as the scavengers known as Jawas.
Obi-Wan Kenobi lived in a small dwelling on the edge of the 'Jundland Wastes' after he took the infant Luke Skywalker to live on a moisture farm with relatives to hide the boy from Darth Vader. This area is also a level in the video game LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.
Moisture farms

'Moisture farms' are small agricultural settlements founds in the deserts of Tatooine that utilize a large amount of moisture collecting devices spread over a wide area to harvest water from the relatively dry air of the planet. Luke Skywalker spent his early years living with his Uncle Owen (Anakin Skywalker's step-brother) and Aunt Beru on a moisture farm.
Mos Eisley

'Mos Eisley' is a spaceport town. In '', Obi-Wan Kenobi described 'Mos Eisley' as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy." It is also the home of the Mos Eisley Cantina and Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes.
Mos Eisley Cantina

The 'Mos Eisley Cantina', officially named 'Chalmun's Cantina', is a bar located in the pirate city of Mos Eisley. It is the haunt of freight pilots and other dangerous characters of varying races and contains booths, a bar counter, and some free-standing tables, and sometimes a band of musicians named Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes. This is a busy area in the video game Star Wars Galaxies, or SWG.
Mos Espa

'Mos Espa' is a city known for its distinct "desert-proof" domed buildings. It is home to a podracing track and was the home of Anakin and Shmi Skywalker in ''. There was a large slave quarter within the rugged city.
Tosche Station (Toshi Station)

The 'Tosche Station', or 'Tosche Power Station', is a general store found in the city of Anchorhead. It sells a variety of goods such as power converters. Tosche Station serves as the central location in the Anchorhead Story of ''Star Wars'', a series of scenes that were deleted from ''. It is described as a frequent hangout for Anchorhead's youth due to the fact that its owner, Merle Tosche, is seldom around. In his absence, "Fixer" runs the business, accompanied by his girlfriend Camie, and assisted by a repair droid.
Script reference from ''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'':
:LUKE: Me and my friends were going to 'Tosche Station' to pick up some power converters...
:OWEN: You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now come on, get to it!

Tatooine's namesake


The planet is not actually named in ''; according to Lucas he intended to name it Utapau but finally he named it retrospectively after the movie's desert location, Tataouine (French spelling) or ''Al-Tatooine'' ('التاتوین') (Arabic spelling) in Tunisia. Tataouine was a French penal colony until 1938. Utapau however was given to a different planet, in ''. The Tunisian region Tatooine was also featured in ''The X-Files: Fight the Future'' film.

Tatooine in other Pop Culture


Tatooine is also found in the television show ''House M.D.'' in the episode "Cane and Able," when they have a patient who believes he is being tortured by aliens.
"Tatooine" is a song by Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives, a Massachusetts-based band.

Tatooine in Science


The California Institute of Technology reported on July 13, 2005 that Maciej Konacki, a senior postdoctoral scholar in planetary science, discovered a planet orbiting a triple-star system known as HD 188753 in the constellation Cygnus about 149 light-years from Earth. It is the first planet to be discovered orbiting a multi-star system, and Konacki refers to planets of this type as "Tatooine planets" after Luke Skywalker's home world.

Appearances


Lego Star Wars

Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

Star Wars Battlefront

Star Wars Battlefront II

Star Wars Empire At War

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (novel)

Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (mentioned only)

Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith (game) (movie clip only)

Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds (non-canon)

Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns

Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic

See also


Star Wars filming locations

References



★ ''Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays'', softcover, 1997. George Lucas, Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, Laurent Bouzereau, ISBN 0-345-40981-7

★ ''Star Wars: Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina'', 1st paperback printing, 1995. Kevin J. Anderson (editor of anthology). ISBN 0-553-56468-4

★ ''Star Wars: Tales from Jabba's Palace'', 1st edition, 1995. Kevin J. Anderson (editor), ISBN 0-553-56815-9

★ ''Star Wars, Darksaber'', 1st paperback printing, 1995. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 0-553-57611-9

★ ''The Essential guide to Planets and Moons (Star Wars)'', 1st edition, by Daniel Wallace, Scott Kolins. 1998. ISBN 0-345-42068-3

External links







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