Meteorite/Legends

"Call it a meteorite storm...."

- Darth Vader

A meteorite was a mass of stone or metal that reached a planetary surface from outer space. Generally, the rocky mass originated as part of an asteroid. Before entering a planetary atmosphere, the object was still considered to be a meteor. Only when entering a planetary atmosphere and surviving impact on the planet's surface did it take on the term "meteorite" for purposes of disambiguation.

History
"There's a meteorite that hit the ground near here. I want to check it out. It won't take long."

- Luke Skywalker, to Han Solo

When the Devastator captured the Tantive IV, Darth Vader ordered the sending of a fake distress signal claiming the Alderaanian vessel had been destroyed by a meteorite storm.

When the Rebel Alliance established its new base on the remote ice world of Hoth in 2 ABY, they found they had difficulty monitoring the activity of approaching ships in the Hoth system due to the large numbers of meteorites crashing on the planetary surface.

In 3 ABY, while on a routine scouting mission through Hoth's frozen wastelands, Luke Skywalker saw what he believed to be a meteorite crash into the snow not far from him. Before he could inspect the crash closer, he was attacked by a wampa ice creature. The object was actually an Imperial probe droid.

According to Ewok belief, the evil Night Spirit came to Endor inside of a meteorite.

In 7 ABY, Rogue Squadron pilot Nawara Ven suffered a severed right leg below the knee after it was hit by a micro-meteorite.

During the joint raid on Binring Biomedical Product on Saffalore between Wraith Squadron and Rogue Squadron in 7.5 ABY, the pilots of the two squadrons landed on the planet under the cover of meteorites falling to Saffalore's surface. The meteorites were large asteroids from the asteroid field in the Saffalore system, diverted toward Saffalore by the Mon Remonda to hide the starfighters.

Appearances

 * Star Wars 1
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novel
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back junior novel
 * The Empire Strikes Back game
 * Star Wars: Ewoks
 * Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
 * X-wing: Rogue Squadron
 * X-wing: The Bacta War
 * X-wing: Solo Command
 * Star Wars: Empire 14: The Savage Heart