A single shot from the Star Wars films has given a true sense of the Death Star’s scale compared to an Imperial Star Destroyer, leaving viewers shocked. George Lucas opened the first Star Wars film in style, with the Tantive IV desperately fleeing from an Imperial Star Destroyer. This opening shot was tremendously effective, immediately establishing the sense of scale; a scrappy Rebel Alliance desperately trying to persevere against the might of the Galactic Empire. The angles were carefully chosen to emphasize the intimidating size of the Imperial Star Destroyer, This was all the more impressive given the speed at which the Star Destroyer seemed to be moving.As massive as an Imperial Star Destroyer may be, though, it pales in comparison to the Death Star. The Empire’s most powerful superweapon actually contained a fleet of Star Destroyers – as graphically illustrated by one shot, that’s been picked up on online.
The Death Star is so massive that it’s only really possible to spot the Star Destroyer by looking at the comments.
Just How Big Was The Death Star?
The Death Stars are so massive they are easily mistaken for moons. The first Death Star was 100 miles (160km) wide at its equator, and it was designed to be more than just a superweapon; it was a mobile battle-station, capable of hyperspace travel, housing an entire armada. The Death Star was made to function as a world of its own, with nearly 2 million people living there in some capacity – including over 342,000 members of the Imperial army and navy, as well as over 25,000 stormtroopers. When Palpatine’s Death Star was destroyed, he lost literally millions of the Empire’s best and brightest.
The comparison between the Death Star and an Imperial Star Destroyer underscores just how impossible an engineering project this was – and why it took over 20 years to complete, given construction began during the last years of the Old Republic. The biggest problem came with the power source; the Sith had forgotten how to use kyber crystals as power sources. This secret had been lost in the mists of time, and it was only discovered by Galen Erso (played by Mads Mikkelsen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). His rediscovery of kyber’s potential led to the completion of the battle-station – but, thankfully, he also managed to sabotage the project.
The Death Star took over 20 years to build, but in the end it was only operational for a few days. The most terrifying weapon in Star Wars was taken down with a single shot, when Luke Skywalker capitalized on Erso’s sabotage and fired a missile down the exhaust port. It may have been enormous – but it also proved to be explosive.
Source: Galactic Empire on Twitter