Wookieepedia:Featured article queue/March 15, 2009

The Hoth asteroid field was an extensive, wildly erratic asteroid belt occupying the farthest orbit of the Hoth system in the Outer Rim Territories. Forged as the resulting effect of a collision between two rocky planets eons prior to the Galactic Civil War, the belt was a favored sanctuary for smugglers and pirates alike hoping to elude legal authority. The field was rich in untapped mineral resources such as metal ore, a magnet for mining prospectors hoping to make a fortune. The chaotic nature of the asteroid field sent a constant bombardment of meteorites to the surface of Hoth, the system's sixth planet.

Following the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY, Han Solo braved the perils of the asteroid belt in the Millennium Falcon as part of a desperate ploy to escape the Imperial Navy, successfully navigating its expanse against all odds. Later, in 12 ABY, the Hutts used the belt as the construction site of the Darksaber Project, a planet-destroying superweapon designed to dominate the galaxy. A New Republic attack force under the command of General Wedge Antilles destroyed the weapon before its application.