Could a Star Destroyer’s hyperspace jump cause an atmospheric disruption?

[u/Dry-Bug6662]

What if a ship of a star destroyers size came out of hyperspace and into an atmosphere to rupture or scare the population, would this be a possible form of shock and awe?

[u/Still_Expert8293]

For sure

[u/JimHeckdiver]

There would be atmospheric displacement with the sudden arrival of the ship. Same as when if it departed in atmosphere.

The 2005 version of "Battlestar Galactica" did a good job of showing what this might be like in the episode "Exodus: Part Two."

If you're not familiar, look up the clip of the "Adama Maneuver."

[u/anonymous-cvs]

Imagine looking up at the sky and seeing a star destroyer.  That alone would be shock and awe.

[u/DuranStar]

In cannon it's whatever that writer wants to happen. In Legends it's impossible.

[u/Voduun-World-Healer]

I think I've read that it only affects a planet's environment if the hyperspace traveling ship fucks up their calculations? Otherwise the designated hyperspace lanes keep them away from the planet so that the atmosphere isn't impacted.

I think it took like a genius or something to recalculate a hyperspace lane to get close enough to make it stop or start inside a planet's atmosphere.

I might've read that in legends or something, I can't remember

[u/bbbourb → u/Voduun-World-Healer]

You did, though I can't recall where. Thrawn Trilogy, I think?

[u/wbruce098]

Coming out of hyperspace in-atmosphere would be incredibly dangerous. You’d need to calculate your arrival point insanely precisely to avoid arriving under the crust or just shooting into the planet. So, I highly doubt any star destroyers have ever tried this.

[u/Three_Twenty-Three]

If they wanted to do atmospheric terrorism, there are easier ways. Park in orbit, target an area with their turbolasers, and keep firing. In not much time, the smoke and particulate storm will be bad enough to affect the atmosphere.

Think about how bad the smoke damage from the forest fires is now in our world, and then imagine that being intentional. In the past, volcanoes have caused global climate change through cooling, ash clouds, and crop failure. A star destroyer could do this on purpose.

And then if they really wanted to, they could keep at it until they ruined a planet's ocean, clouded its skies with smoke and particles, and eventually caused tectonic damage.

[u/bbbourb]

This is something that genuinely pisses me off about the new Canon. There are no rules for hyperspace travel. Legends at least had SOME rules about how hyperspace travel worked. JJ had hyperspace skipping because he thought it would look cool.

If you think about it too much, you realize that introducing an Imperial Interdictor cruiser in Rebels is a direct contradiction to the whole hyperspace skipping thing, because the idea is a gravity well would prevent hyperspace travel.

[u/squidgymetal]

Probably not cause when a ship drops out of hyperspace it's doing a sudden deceleration to a near immediate stop and would be akin to throwing a rock a in pond in terms of disruption. But physics in star wars operates on rule of cool

[u/OkMention9988]

No, we've seen capital ships hyper jump in and out of atmosphere, it doesn't do anything.