Coruscant

[kuh-ruhs-kuhnt, kawr-uhs-, kor-]


Distance from Core	10,000 light years
Region1	Core Worlds
Oversector	Imperial Center Oversector (during Imperial rule)
Sector	Coruscant (Imperial during reign of Empire)
System	Coruscant
Orbital period	368 days (reduced to an unspecified number after the Yuuzhan Vong moved the planet closer to its sun)
Rotation period	24 hours (Galactic Standard)
Surface Gravity	13.91 m/s² (Galactic Standard)
Number of suns	1
Number of moons	4 (3 after the Yuuzhan Vong destroyed one to form a planetary ring system)
Terrain	Urban
Species	Taung (original, extinct), Various
Main language	Basic
Population	100 Billion
Points of Interest	Jedi Temple, Supreme Chancellery, Imperial Palace, Manarai Mountains, Galactic Senate Building
Surface water	29% (in ice caps)
Affiliation	Galactic Republic, Galactic Empire, Yuuzhan Vong Empire, New Republic, Galactic Federation of Free Alliances

Coruscant is a fictional planet in the Star Wars universe. It first appeared on screen in Return of the Jedi: The Special Edition (1997), but was first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire. An ecumenopolis, it was renamed Imperial Center during the reign of the Galactic Empire and Yuuzhan'tar during the Yuuzhan Vong Invasion. The adjective form of the planet name is Coruscanti.

Coruscant was the capital of the Old Republic, the Galactic Empire, the New Republic, the Yuuzhan Vong Empire and the Galactic Alliance at various times. It is generally agreed that Coruscant is the most important world in the galaxy, evidenced by the fact that its hyperspace coordinates are (0,0,0). The galaxy's main trade routes—Rimma Trade Route, Perlemian Trade Route, Hydian Way, Corellian Run and Corellian Trade Spine—go through Coruscant, making it the richest and most influential world in the Star Wars galaxy.

Coruscant is the latest and best known instance of a popular meme: the idea of a planet which as a galactic capital had been developed into one great city over all of its surface. This originated in Isaac Asimov's planet Trantor, which predates the Star Wars version by more than four decades.

Etymology and naming

The word itself originates in the late 15th century from the Latin coruscant- 'vibrating, glittering', from the verb coruscare. It is described in the Concise Oxford Dictionary as a poetic and literary adjective meaning 'glittering; sparkling' and probably refers to the night side of the planetwide city. The word "coruscant" is also a French adjective which can be used to describe a decadent and overcomplicated language, decorum or community.

Concept of a city planet

Originally the planet, which was then called "Alderaan", was to appear in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, but the budget wouldn't allow, so a lot of action on Alderaan was moved to the Death Star and Alderaan became the name of Princess Leia's home planet which is destroyed. The concept of seeing the Empire's home world, renamed "Had Abaddon", came up again in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and the concept of the entire planet being a city came up for the first time. However, realizing such a city on screen was impossible at the time, the creators abandoned the idea.

The concept of a city covering an entire planet is not new. The planet Trantor in Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels is probably the first fictional planet to be totally urbanized. The entire land-area of Trantor surface was entirely covered in city domes, except for 100 square kilometers devoted to the gardens of the Imperial Palace.

The planet first appeared in the Expanded Universe and was called "Coruscant" for the first time in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire. Coruscant was first seen on screen in the 1997 Special Edition release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and the X-wing series of computer games. Coruscant was then seen in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. There is a speeder chase through the skies of Coruscant in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones that eventually leads to a nightclub in the bowels of Coruscant's Uscru Entertainment District. Coruscant is seen yet again in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith as part of the Battle of Coruscant near the end of the Clone Wars, where a large part of the plot centers on the Republic Senate and the Jedi Temple.

In various novels, characters aligned with the Empire refer to Coruscant as "Imperial Center". Within the stories, this is explained as an administrative renaming undertaken to emphasize the differences between the Old Republic and the Empire.

History within the Star Wars Universe

Coruscant is a prominent location in both the Star Wars film series and the Expanded Universe media that has been produced. Within the narrative of the films, Coruscant based locations such as the Jedi Temple and Jedi Archives act as the home for the Jedi and in plot terms are frequently used for exposition or to drive other elements of the plot.

A deserted manufacturing area known as 'The Works' was the Sith meeting place of Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus, Sidious's second apprentice and Confederate head of state and government in Attack of the Clones. Another area of Coruscant shown is Coco Town (short for "collective commerce"). Coco Town is the site of Dex's Diner in Attack of the Clones. Another notable area of Coruscant is 500 Republica, an area where the crème de la crème, such as politicians and diplomats gather. In Episode III: Revenge of the Sith a theatre in 500 Republica is where Chancellor Palpatine held his conference with Anakin Skywalker, while watching an opera. The planet also serves as the basis for an extended space battle, that forms the opening sequence of Revenge of the Sith and results in the death of Count Dooku.

In the novelization of Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan Kenobi is described as speaking with a Coruscanti accent, implying that it is equivalent to a British accent.

Coruscant is also the location of an additional sequence added to later versions of the Return of the Jedi. In a montage scene, upon hearing of the death of the Emperor, citizens are seen celebrated the death of Palpatine with fireworks and by pulling down his statues.

In The New Jedi Order series, Coruscant is the capital world of the New Republic until the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong overwhelm the Republic defenses in three attack waves, led by Warmaster Tsavong Lah, and take over the planet. After surrendering, the Yuuzhan Vong agreed to help the Alliance rebuild Coruscant. The new Coruscant is a combination of technology and organic life, to represent the peace between the Galactic Alliance and the Yuuzhan Vong.

References

The Essential guide to Planets and Moons (Star Wars), 1st edition, by Daniel Wallace, Scott Kolins. 1998. ISBN 0-345-42068-3
Star Wars, X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble, (Book 2 of the X-Wing series) 1st paperback printing, 1996. Michael A. Stackpole, ISBN 0-553-56802-7
Star Wars, X-Wing: The Krytos Trap, (Book 3 of the X-Wing series) 1st paperback printing, 1996. Michael A. Stackpole, ISBN 0-553-56803-5
Star Wars: Before the Storm, (Book 1 of The Black Fleet Crisis), first paperback printing, 1996. Michael P. Kube-McDowell, ISBN 0-553-57273-3
Star Wars: Shield of Lies, (Book 2 of The Black Fleet Crisis), first paperback printing, 1996. Michael P. Kube-McDowell, ISBN 0-553-57277-6
Star Wars, Darksaber, 1st paperback printing, 1995. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 0-553-57611-9
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, 1996. Steve Perry, ISBN 0-553-57413-2
Heir to the Empire, (Book 1 of The Thrawn Crisis), 1st edition, 1991. Timothy Zahn. ISBN 0-553-07327-3
Dark Force Rising, (Book 2 of The Thrawn Crisis), 1st edition, 1992. Timothy Zahn. ISBN 0-553-08574-3
The Last Command, (Book 3 of The Thrawn Crisis), 1st edition, 1993. Timothy Zahn. ISBN 0-553-09186-7
Edge of Victory: Rebirth (Book 8 of the New Jedi Order) 2001. Greg Keyes, ISBN 0-09-941044-3
Star By Star, (Book 9 of the New Jedi Order) 2002. Troy Denning, ISBN 0-09-941038-9
The Shadow Academy, Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta. Berkley, 1995. (ISBN 1-57297-025-1)
The Lost Ones, Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta. Berkley, 1995. (ISBN 1-57297-052-9)

Alain Musset, From New York to Coruscant. Essay on Geofiction (in French only : De New York à Coruscant. Essai de géofiction, PUF, 2005. This author uses science fiction as a way to explore the present (assuming that writers base their fiction as an extension of today) / (p. 109)