Less than 12 Parsecs....

Some people are confused about the line 'It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs'. Well I found there was an 'Ask the Jedi Council' answer for it here

Click

It says....
While Captain Solo is known to make boastful claims that seem to defy the basic laws of space-time physics, in this particular case, an understanding of the mechanics of the Kessel Run illuminates this statistic.

The Kessel Run is a contest of speed and endurance for smugglers. Those who undertake it must deliver specified cargos (usually illicit in nature) to a series of divergently moving transport vessels. The smuggler must deliver the cargo before the transports wander out of the free trade lanes into restricted Imperial space.

Solo's record is impressive, since the transport vessels covered less than 12 parsecs of distance during his hurried run between them, a testament to his piloting and the speed of the Millennium Falcon.

There is more than one way to smuggle spice out of Kessel. According to one tale, Solo left out the middleman and ferried the stolen goods himself, skirting dangerously close to the Maw Cluster, a baffling congregation of black holes. In doing so, he shortened the distance for the run, achieving an impressive record of under 12 parsecs.

Using either methodology allows Solo's claim to stand, but there are many, including the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, who felt that the Corellian captain was just blowing hot air.

 

I want to know why Han uses it as speed and in AOTC its used as a distance.

 

Han does not use it as speed. The Kessel Run goes around the black hole clusters near Kessel. The closer a pilot flies to the black holes, the faster he can fly around them, and the less distance he will have to travel.

 

But still twelve parsecs is supposed to be the distance from Coruscant to Kamino, did he fly the distance just to escape?

 

12 parsecs is not the distance from Coruscant to Kamino. It is the distance from the Rishi Maze to Kamino.

If you want the details on Han's Kessel Run, read Rebel Dawn.

 

Oh...thank you, I was the confused one then. The Force is strong in you Bib Fortuna Twi'Lek

 

There is also some info on it in 'Jedi Search' by Kevin J Anderson.

 

Basically, what it means is that Han cut dangerously close to the black hole clusters of the Maw, and shaved his distance travelled down to under 12 parsecs. Only the Falcon's speed enabled him to do so.

 

It's definitely a testament to how fast he was flying and the amount of distance he covered.

 

...as well as the "after-the-fact" explanations that are necessary for the SW films.

 

I love the way the EU has come up with such a convoluted load of hokum to explain that line, when the simple explanation of Han was just trying to hoodwink what he thought were ignorant locals is so much better.

 

The simple explanation of Lucas was just trying to hoodwink what he thought were ignorant viewers is so much better...

 

I love the way the EU has come up with such a convoluted load of hokum to explain that line, when the simple explanation of Han was just trying to hoodwink what he thought were ignorant locals is so much better

Sure it is...

 

Actually, it is...

Han: "It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs!"

Ben reacts to Solo's stupid attempt to impress them with obvious misinformation - The Annotated Screenplays

The novelization does it right...

"Fast ship? You mean you've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?"

Kenobi appeared amused. "Should I?"

"It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve standard timeparts!" Solo told him indignantly. "I've outrun Imperial starships and Corellian cruisers. I think she's fast enough for you, old man." His outrage subsided rapidly. "What's your cargo?"

 

When I first saw that Kessel line, I thought it meant Han made some creature named Kessel run away from him...

 

Hi, Skywookie. Sorry your banner didn't win the contest.

 

SkyWookie still might of won, remember that DLM said that there were three winners that would show for a month each.

 

I love the way the EU has come up with such a convoluted load of hokum to explain that line, when the simple explanation of Han was just trying to hoodwink what he thought were ignorant locals is so much better

Sure it is...

Actually, yes, it is. It's a nice demonstration of Han's ability to be a charming blowhard.

And it's certainly more interesting than a convoluted, pseudo-scientific explanation of basically bouncing off of black holes. (Especially since the entire series is composed of a large dose of non-science, trying to assign some sort of serious explanation to something so simple is inane).

 

I think both explainations are valid, it just depends on which one you'd like to believe is true. Stuff in the EU doesn't get published with out GL's premission though.

 

What difference does it make? AOTC essentially confirmed the entire EU stance on what a parsec is.

 

Actually, nothing was changed or clarified in AOTC. Parsecs have been and always will be a measure of distance.

 

The EU explanation isn't ludicrously complex. It's as simple as the one given by Ask the JC. Please let's not let this thread devolve into an EU-bashing thread

EDIT: Thanks, MeBeJedi

 

"It's as simple as the one in the movies."

Actually, it's been giving in lieu of a non-existant explanation from the films.

 

Personally, I think Obi-Wan's expression says it all. He has this look of "What are you trying to pull here?" The idea that Han was just talking BS makes more sense, I think. Personally, I find the EU's explanation to unnecessarily convoluted. Han means this statement to be a simple measure of how fast his ship is, by giving its speed in a slightly roundabout fashion, like saying "I can run the mile in 4 minutes". The EU idea, however, means that Han is taking an awfully complicated way of saying it. If I wanted to tell you how fast I was, would it provide more information to you if I said "I can run the mile in 4 minutes", or if I said "I can run through that forest with the bears, and only have to go two miles"? The second doesn't really say anything, the first can actually tell you how fast I run. Han, in order to impress these local yokels, would not assume that they would know that 12 parsecs is a good score on the Kessel Run, or what that implies about his ship; rather, it makes more sense if he simply gives them some numbers that sound nice.

 

"like saying "I can run the mile in 4 minutes"."

Actually, he's saying something more long the lines of "I can run the mile in less than a mile".