Is there a shield over coruscant?

[Flectarn]

Has anyone encountered any evidence to indicate there is a planetary shield over coruscant in the movie movie level cannon?

Hard evidence to the contrary?

Evidence that Palpatine might have had it deliberately lowered before the opening of Revenge of the Sith?

I've posited elsewhere that Alderaan cannot have a shield based on the novel claim that it's defenses are as good as any in the empire, and in watching RotS I see no evidence of a shield over the most important world in the Empire/Republic. This of course is disputed, but i cannot find information to back up my claim, beyond it's apparent lack of being there...

[Mr. Oragahn]

If there was a shield, all evidence is utterly lacking from the movie and the book.
Some fans theorize that ships were stuck between layers of said shield, but that's impossible due to debris falling on the Coruscanti rooftops. If there was no lower layer, the generators would be sitting ducks.
Others point to flat whitish hazes, looking like lightning phenomena, seen from above the cloud layers, in places where there are no clouds apparently, as proof of shield. That's, I think, when Dooku returns from Geonosis. One would wonder why the shield would be up, and how could traffic be possible in such conditions.

The EU, I think, says there are such shields. There's even a squad of whatever that sabotages one or something, can't remember, so one sector gets unshielded.

[Mike DiCenso]

The second order canon of the RoTS novelization very distinctly has no use or mention of planetary shielding for Courscant. Just capital ships and ground-based anti-ship turbolasers.

The EU, in particular, the Heir to the Empire trilogy has planetary shields in use over Courscant to protect against possible cloaked asteroids that Thrawn has laid in a decaying orbit about the city-covered planet.

I vaguely recall the Count Dooku scene. Didn't someone post images of it here on the SFJ forum a long while back?
-Mike

[Who is like God arbour]

In the novel "Star Wars - Episode III - Revenge of the Sith", it is described, that Gen. Grievous has planned to jump to hyperspace and has indeed jumped to hyperspace. That wouldn't be possible, if there would be a shield behind the fleet.

On the other side, there was debris, that was fallen on Coruscant.

Ergo, there were no shields active, neither between Coruscant and the fleet nor behind the fleet.



Another question is, if Coruscant has shields at all and if they were only deactivated or even destroyed.

I can't imagine, that, if Coruscant would have shields, it would have only one single shield generator. It would make more sense to have many generators evenly distributed around the planet. Even if a few generators are destroyed, there would be enough backup to compensate these loses.

Insofar, it would be impossible for a squad to sabotage all these shield generators.

And it would be more difficult for a fleet in orbit to destroy all of them.

Therefore there remains as a plausible possibility, that the shields were deactivated.

But why should Coruscant deactivate the shields?

This would only allow the Invisible Hand with the kidnapped Chancellor to escape.

Ergo, the most plausible answer is, that there are no planetary shields.

[l33telboi]

Just to add, in the EU it is said that Coruscant has a planetary shield. The Vong had to throw asteroids on the planet to take it down. This is going what's been said in various debates, so take it as you will.

[Mike DiCenso]

l33telboi, can you get a specific citation for that event? If so, how many asteroids and of what size did it take for the Vong to eventually bring down Coruscant's shields?
-Mike

[l33telboi]

l33telboi, can you get a specific citation for that event? If so, how many asteroids and of what size did it take for the Vong to eventually bring down Courscant's shields?

Not sure which novel it's in, or where to look for it. But if anyone else knows, then I probably could look it up and quote.

[Who is like God arbour]

I have heard, that this was a tactic in the Thrawn Trilogy [1].

I have never heard, that the Vong have used the same tactic. [2]

Could it be, that you are confusing something?

[Mr. Oragahn]

Arguably, one could say that numerous planetary shields were installed on Corsucant after the events of ROTS, to avoid anymore mess like that.

[l33telboi]

Actually, while looking through wookiepedia, I found this by accident:

Emperor Palpatine also began to shape Coruscant with his own designs, and this included the installment of thousands of surveillance systems throughout the ecumenopolis. Massive shield generators were placed all over Coruscant, and where the shield segments overlapped, powerful storms would brew. Although Coruscant had always been known for its high concentration of thunderstorms (due to rising vapor from the billions of buildings and homes), the increased frequency lent the planet a foreboding, almost gothic look, which mirrored the utter desperation of many of its inhabitants as they choked under Palpatine's iron rule. The Emperor also arranged for the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Lusankya to be buried beneath the Manarai Mountains district. Later, the massive battleship was used as a private prison by Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard.

As for the asteroid attack, it could be I'm confusing things. But I'm fairly certain I'm not though. What novel did it happen in?

[Who is like God arbour]

As I have said, somewhere in the Thrawn Triology. There are already two footnotes.

And regarding your quote, there seems to be many EU sources, that are incompatible with higher ranking canon.

The facts from the movies are, that there was never a planetary shield shown or mentioned - although there was enough cause to mention such a thing.

• Star Wars - Episode I:
  • Naboo was not protected by a planetary shield neither was mentioned, that such thing exists and a reason provided, why Naboo has no planetary shield.
  Star Wars - Episode II:
  • Geonosis was not protected by a planetary shield - although there was a meeting of representatives of important members of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and a not nonsignificant droid factory. Furthermore the Geonosians have wanted to build the Ultimate Weapon, a rather ambitious project. Nevertheless Republic ships were able to land without anyone noticing anything.
  Star Wars - Episode III:
  • Coruscant was not protected by a planetary shield - although there was a huge battle in its orbit and fallen debris has caused the death of thousands, what could have been prevented with activated shields. And it is not possible, that a shield was erected behind the fleet because Gen. Grievous has escaped, what would have been impossible, if there would have been a shield.
  Star Wars - Episode IV:
  • Alderaan was not protected by a planetary shield. Neither the movie nor the novel are showing a planetary shield.
  Star Wars - Episode V:
  • Hoth was not protected by a planetary shield. Only the rebel base was protected by a theatre shield.
  Star Wars - Episode VI:
  • Endor was not protected by a planetary shield. The novel as well as the movie are showing, that the shield was projected from the moon, encompassing the Death Star but not the moon itself.

If there were planetary shields, they would have been seen or at least mentioned at least one single time. But there is not a single indication in the highest ranking canon, that planetary shields are existing.

I doubt, that the new series will show planetary shields either.

Insofar I think, that all EU sources, that are mentioning planetary shields, are contradicted by higher ranking canon.

[Mith]

Ah, but you see, because they don't go specifically out of their way to say that such a thing is impossible, or absurd, then it must be possible.

I love it how people can just make up crap arguments like that in some places.

Or even better is the 200 GT firepower, and then having both the Falcon crew and the Imperial warships shitting themselves with the idea of running into an asteroid field.

[Who is like God arbour]

There is the exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis principle.

If it would be the norm, that there are planetary shields, their absence or inactivity would have been mentioned and described as an exception, especially in situations in which, if there were planetary shields, one could expect one.

That means that, if there were planetary shields, that in all 6 episodes the absence of a planetary shield would have been explained. Otherwise, the story line wouldn't make sense because one would not understand, why things have happened, which shouldn't have happened, if there are planetary shields.

That there was no such explanations means, that there are no planetary shields.

[l33telboi]

The quote talks about a shield being added after episode III, which would fit well with the rest of the movies. There's no real contradiction to be found here.

[Mr. Oragahn]

Star Wars - Episode V:

• Hoth was not protected by a planetary shield. Only the rebel base was protected by a theatre shield.

The EU actually says, in some Imperial book I think, that planetary shields don't mean shields which protect the whole planet, but shields projected from the ground. They include theater shields.

Star Wars - Episode VI:

• Endor was not protected by a planetary shield. The novel as well as the movie are showing, that the shield was projected from the moon, encompassing the Death Star but not the moon itself.

The novel and the film disagree. The novel says that the shield protected both the battle station and the moon, as per a hologram. The film disagrees.
Later on in the book, Ackbar looks at the same shield on a screen in his ship, and as the shield generator is destroyed, the book says that both moon and station were rendered defenseless. That said, considering the previous clash of evidence during the holo briefing, it is obvious that the novel would still argue for a full protection later on, nevermind if it was wrong the first time.

Insofar I think, that all EU sources, that are mentioning planetary shields, are contradicted by higher ranking canon.

Apparently l33t has found a note, which would need to be verified since the nature of the source, that planetary shields were put on Coruscant after the events of ROTS.

As for Alderaan, in that thread we had there, we precisely saw that one of the sources clearly said there was no shield whatsoever on that planet, and that if it had been the case, the effects of the superlaser would have been considerably tamer.