In something like Star Trek, you can say 'this ship can achieve Warp 6', which sets a specific limit on how fast that ship can go (depending on which warp scale you're using, which is a different matter). Does there exist a similar scale for Star Wars? Specifically, are there any limits or standards imposed on hyperspeed? I know the movies imply that anyone can travel anywhere instantaneously, whereas the EU tends to make journeys take days or even weeks. The only reference to hyperspace speed is Han's ".5 past lightspeed" which obviously doesn't make sense. Is the speed of hyperspace travel dependent entirely on the whims of the writer?
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2I really doubt this question isn't a duplicate, but I couldn't find anything that answers this question on this site. – DaaaahWhoosh Jan 24 '17 at 17:28
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"The only reference to hyperspace speed is Han's ".5 past lightspeed" which obviously doesn't make sense" Sure it does, if we interpret it to mean 1.5x lightspeed (from the point of view of an observer outside of hyperspace who doesn't take relativity too seriously) – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 24 '17 at 17:32
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They are able to go thousands of light years in a matter of hours. I don't know if the speed can really be measured – CHEESE Jan 24 '17 at 18:06
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Ludicrously fast. – void_ptr Jan 24 '17 at 18:28
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According to http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hyperspace, this is kind of a loaded question.
Hyperspace is an "alternate dimension", which could only be reached by going to light-speed. However, once in hyperspace, the ship would travel through wrinkles in the fabric of real space to reduce journey time significantly.
So, by traveling 1.5 x the speed of light, Han made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs...which might refer to he was able to travel at high enough speeds within Hyperspace, that he actually traveled between two points in space through Hyperspace, gathering up enough folds and wrinkles in hyperspace that the trip only took 12 parsecs
So... it's kind of like you're asking how fast can Jack O'Neill travel through the Stargate. Theoretically, according to the show, he could walk at 1 MPH and make it to the other side of the galaxy in a few seconds.
Drew
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I really don't like that answer... but it appears to be accurate. If nothing better comes along, I'll accept this. – DaaaahWhoosh Jan 24 '17 at 19:24
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Sorry about that. The EU might have had more answers but...it's gone now. – Drew Jan 24 '17 at 19:30
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Yeah, I'm reading the 'Legends' section of the link you provided, and it looks like it was a lot closer to warp-travel back then. But if it's teleportation now, then I guess that's what it is. – DaaaahWhoosh Jan 24 '17 at 19:34
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it "took 12 parsecs" is really misleading. parsec is not a measurement of time but space. It's like saying "my trip took 12 miles", or "the flight towards the sun took 1 AU" – Doomed Mind Jan 25 '17 at 10:59
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@DoomedMind Keep in mind that people often use time as a measure of distance ("How far away is your house from your office?" "A half-hour.") and we just mentally convert. You can do some neat things in space-time physics by measuring both time and distance in seconds: one second of time, one light-second of distance. (No, I'm not trying to justify Han's crazy quote... but it's not necessarily as crazy as it first sounds.) – Ghotir Jan 25 '17 at 15:27
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@Ghotir yeah, I know. Used that way is okay too. But when you make a claim as traveling with 1.5c, using parsec as a representation of time doesn't do anything cool anymore. – Doomed Mind Jan 25 '17 at 16:02
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@DoomedMind I like to think that it was a measurement of distance the Falcon had to travel, not the distance between the Falcon's starting point and its ending point. So, just like you can take a longer route between two points than a straight line, by going through hyperspace you can take a shorter route. Assuming that all spaceships travel through the same hyperlanes, the only way for one ship to travel a shorter distance is to gather more folds in spacetime, which I suppose depends on the hyperdrive and how fast the ship can go. So, the Falcon's so fast, it made the trip in 12 parsecs. – Drew Jan 25 '17 at 19:12