Alderaan / Legends Alderaan , located in the Core Worlds , was the second planet in the Alderaan system , and the home of many famous heroes , including Leia Organa Solo , Bail Organa , and Ulic Qel - Droma . Renowned galaxy - wide for their planet ' s unspoiled beauty , refined culture , and commitment to peace , Alderaanians worked with and around the land to preserve as much of the natural surroundings as they could . Originally the home of the Killik s , Alderaan was later conquered by Humans . Despite a battle during the Great Galactic War and a civil war during the subsequent Cold War , Alderaan remained peaceful during much of galactic history . However , in 0 BBY , Grand Moff Tarkin and the Galactic Empire wanted to intimidate the galaxy into submission , and destroyed the unarmed and peaceful planet using the first Death Star ' s superlaser . History . Pre - Republic . A lush , mountainous world , the native Killik s evolved from the most intelligent non - sentient species on the planet circa 1 , 000 , 000 BBY . Constructing massive hives , such as in the Castle Lands near Oroboro , the Killiks ruled the planet until departing the world and colonizing nearby Alsakan , and later departing for deep space after consuming all of Alderaan ' s natural resources . Human colonists came to the planet from Coruscant , via the Herglic Trade Empire , in 27 , 500 BBY and built a peaceful civilization in harmony with nature . Settlers were attracted from across the Core Worlds , drawn by Alderaan ' s natural beauty . Eventually the Alderaanian monarchy came into existence , and with it the implementation of many laws designed to preserve the environment . Old Republic . Alderaan was a founder of the Galactic Republic in 25 , 053 BBY and one of the anchor - points for early hyperspace exploration . Alderaan was headquarters of Alderaan Royal Engineers , an early Republic shipwright ; with these ships Alderaanian colonists settled Nim Drovis . During the Mandalorian Wars , the planet was threatened with invasion by the forces of Cassus Fett , but the entire invasion force was prematurely obliterated , due to misuse of an ancient Sith artifact . During the peak of the Great Galactic War , the planet ' s peace and tranquility was shattered by a full - scale Sith Empire invasion . The Sith quickly overwhelmed the local defense forces and took the entire royal family hostage . In response , a Republic and Jedi task force launched a swift counter - offensive against the Sith ; recapturing the planet and inflicting a heavy defeat on the Sith . As a consequence of the Sith invasion , the Alderaanian leadership adopted a hardline militarist stance towards the Sith Empire in the Galactic Senate . In 3653 BBY , the Treaty of Coruscant ended the decades - long conflict in favor of the Sith Empire , which had earlier launched a devastating attack on the galactic capital Coruscant . In protest , Senator Gaul Panteer , the Alderaanian Crown Prince , walked out of the Senate and withdrew Alderaan from the Republic . The crown prince ' s actions created much division in Alderaan . While many supported his actions , others were outraged by the secession from the Republic . The crisis worsened with the assassination of the prince and the death of his mother a few days later . The Alderaanian Parliament was quickly torn apart by infighting between rival houses . A bloody civil war quickly ensued when one of these houses attempted a military coup . In the subsequent Interstellar Cold War between the Republic and the Sith , the planet was the site of a number of border skirmishes and proxy battles between Republic and Sith forces . The Republic backed House of Organa while the Sith backed the formerly exiled House of Thul , which sought to reclaim the throne . Neither side had military forces on Alderaan . During the last five centuries of the Old Republic , Alderaan nobility was known to enjoy the seafood from Lamaredd distributed by Bartyn Gourmet Delicacies . In 27 BBY , Alderaan was personally protected by Jedi Master Eeth Koth during the Ashaar Khorda crisis . Clone Wars . As a whole , Alderaan strongly opposed the Military Creation Act ; they had their own security forces , but remained loyal to the Republic during the Clone Wars . Alderaan allowed Refugee Relief Movement settlement by displaced exiles from Ando ( including Orogor Binn and Sandi Maba and her family ) and other Separatist worlds who wished to remain Republic citizens . Due to its assistance of these exiles , Alderaan was attacked personally — nearly " being destroyed " — by General Grievous . With the rise of the New Order , Queen Breha Organa and Viceroy Bail Organa adopted Leia Amidala Skywalker . The Galactic Empire violently terminated the Jedi Praxeum on the planet , though a few students escaped . Shortly afterwards , Jedi Knight Ylenic It ' kla led a remnant of the Caamasi people to settle on Alderaan after Palpatine desolated Caamas . Ylenic served as Trustant of the Caamasi Remnant and adviser to the Organas . Galactic Civil War . Immediately after the formation of the Galactic Empire , Alderaan was wracked by anti - Imperial protests , mainly from alien refugees who were now forced to pay an exorbitant tax to return home . Alderaan eventually became a safe haven for rebellious elements who wished to fight the growing oppression of the Empire , which helped bring on the planet ' s very downfall . As such , Alliance popularity on the planet was massive enough that the Alderaan Guard s often paid visits to families to inform them of any deaths in the service to the Alliance , at least one example being Kissek Doran . When Bail Organa , Garm Bel Iblis , and Mon Mothma formally created the Rebel Alliance , many Alderaanians volunteered their resources and lives , despite the still fresh memories of the Clone Wars . Many of the early warriors of the Alliance , and subsequently , many of its leaders and officers , were Alderaanian . After the horrors of the Clone Wars , Alderaan ' s frigates and light cruisers were dismantled and the world ' s defensive armaments and superweapons were placed aboard the armory warship " Another Chance " . The ship was programmed to continually jump though hyperspace until called home by the High Council . They would not have the opportunity . Destruction of Alderaan . Shortly after the destruction of Despayre , Alderaan was the first strategic target of the first Death Star . In a demonstration of its power to Princess Leia , Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin ordered the destruction of her home , despite Leia ' s protest . While she claimed the planet was weaponless , it is said it had some of the strongest defenses in the Empire . When Death Star gunner Tenn Graneet threw the switch to initiate primary ignition , power was channeled from the hypermatter reactor through the Superlaser , coming out at super luminal velocity . The beam pushed a large part of Alderaan ' s mass into hyperspace , causing the planet to nova . The deaths of the billions of sentient people caused a massive disturbance in the Force . Obi - Wan Kenobi felt the disturbance while en route to the Alderaan system , and told Luke Skywalker that it felt " as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced . " On the Death Star , Force - sensitive stormtrooper Nova Stihl passed out from the shock of sensing all the deaths on Alderaan , and Princess Leia also felt the disturbance in the Force , although she was unaware of her sensitivity at the time . The plan drastically backfired , driving thousands of beings to the Alliance cause , even in the Core Worlds , and sending many planets in the Mid Rim into open rebellion . A number of Alderaanians serving in the Imperial military defected to the Rebel Alliance after learning of their homeworld ' s destruction ; among the defectors was the TIE fighter pilot Tycho Celchu . The Imperials attempted to pin the blame for Alderaan ' s destruction on the Rebels , keeping a small number of people loyal to the Empire ; however , the ruse convinced few . Post - Destruction . The remains of Alderaan became known as the Graveyard and many Alderaanians who were off - planet when Alderaan was destroyed performed a private ceremony called the Returning , and would shoot capsules filled with gifts for their friends and family . Some Alderaanian Exiles who called themselves the Guardians , took to patrolling the Graveyard to prevent pirates from stealing the capsules . These Alderaanians were held in rather high regard among the exiles . Han Solo and his crew of the " Millennium Falcon " , were among the first to visit it . In the months after the destruction of Alderaan , Imperial agents often lay in wait for ships performing a Returning ritual . They boarded the ships and arrested the passengers and crew . The Rebel Alliance considered quarantining the Graveyard , as these Imperial actions were too risky for the Alliance . In 0 ABY , a group of Alderaanians formed a colony on Ejolus , but it was wiped out by the Empire only eight months after their homeworld ' s destruction . However , shortly after the Ejolus colony was wiped out , the remaining refugees were taken in by the Alderaan Alliance , who gave them residence on New Alderaan discovered by the Rebel Alliance . Even in 24 ABY , Force - sensitive individuals such as Tenel Ka Djo could still feel echoes of the Force disturbance caused by the deaths of the planet ' s population . It was also at this time that Jacen and Jaina Solo retrieved a piece of the planet ' s core , removed via lightsaber , as a birthday gift for their mother , Leia . Terrain . Considered the " Shining Star " of the Core Worlds , wild grasslands and old mountain ranges dominated the planet ' s land surface . Large oceans and scattered inland seas provided the planet with ideal conditions for a large variety of flora and fauna to develop . As such , Alderaan was the homeworld of some of the galaxy ' s most famous animals , such as the nerf , the grazer and the thranta . Alderaanian cities were often built with great care taken to protect nature . One such city , Crevasse City was built on the walls of a canyon , nearly invisible from above . Others were built on stilts along the shoreline or under the polar ice . The capital , Aldera , known for its university , was built on a small island in the center of a caldera . In the Castle Lands , the remains of Killik mounds stood as a silent testament to the indigenous species that had disappeared for unknown reasons . Philosophers , poets , and artists often visited the Castle Lands for inspiration and meditation . Alderaan was home to more than eight thousand subspecies of grass and an even larger number of wildflowers . Its flora also included a massive variety of spices , herbs , and grains . The planet had no major oceans , but it had a single polar ice cap . The rest of Alderaan ' s surface water was composed of thousands of lakes and connecting waterways . Society . Alderaanian culture valued education , the performing and fine arts , and peaceful resolutions to conflicts . They placed high value in their participation in the Galactic Senate and later , its Imperial equivalent . The Alderaanians constantly sought a harmonious existence with their surroundings , evident in their integration of their society into the natural terrain of Alderaan . Alderaanians were known for love of philosophy . The average Alderaanian was very educated and cultured . Poets and artists thrived on Alderaan . The beauty moved the pens of poets , while the vast grasslands served as a canvas for grass painting s . Alderaan was also famous for its cuisine . The large variety of spices and herbs allowed chefs to experiment and create some of the finest dishes in the galaxy . Steamed Alderaanian spiced wine was a favored beverage among many . Some of the planet ' s major exports included wine , art , and luxury goods . Alderaan was known as " Planet of Beauty , " and was voted the safest world in the galaxy by " Hyperspace Traveler " . Government . Although a democratic society , Alderaan was headed by a hereditary constitutional monarchy , with the House of Organa presiding over the High Court and legislative High Council of Alderaan . Its monarchs have variously borne the titles " Prince , " " First Chairman , " " Queen , " " King , " and " Viceroy . " Traditionally , the heir of the Alderaan throne also served in the High Council of Alderaan and a term as Senator of Alderaan . A vizier helped the monarch rule , and many different Noble Houses each had considerable influence in government . Alderaan ' s government deliberately halted itself from so much as questioning spacecraft leaving or arriving on the planet . Several decades before the Clone Wars , a political conflict between the high houses of Alderaan arose . This conflict , known as the Alderaan Ascendancy Contention , was the result of the inability of the great families ( among them the House of Organa and the House of Antilles ) to choose the next Viceroy of Alderaan . Three separate votes yielded no winner , and so the Alderaanians contacted the Galactic Senate , which sent a committee including Jorus C ' baoth to resolve the contention . The participants considered the intricacies of the situation , and decided that House Organa bore the rightful claim to the throne in a month . Bail Organa was the leader of Alderaan and was on the planet when it was destroyed , while his heir and ( secretly - adopted ) daughter Princess Leia served as Senator of Alderaan in the Imperial Senate . Behind the scenes . In the , , , and of " " in 1974 - 1975 , Alderaan was the name of the capital of the New Galactic Empire . And at that time , it was described as a giant gas planet that resembled Bespin , with a city that resembled Cloud City on it . The original name in the second draft of " A New Hope " for what would become Alderaan was Organa Major . Aquilae , Utapau and Ophuchi were also considered as names for worlds partially corresponding to Alderaan . Grindelwald in was scouted for , to capture plate photography for backdrops on the planet Alderaan . In " " , during the part where Revan , Carth , and Bastila are captured on the " Leviathan " , there is a dialog option to cite Alderaan as the location for the Dantooine Jedi Enclave . This was likely done as a joke , similar to how Princess Leia of Alderaan cites Dantooine as the location of the Rebel Base . In " " , Alderaan is featured in the queue ' s " advertisements " for various Star Tours packages , where it is referred to as " the safest planet in the galaxy . " The song " Californication " by the includes the lyrics " Space may be the final frontier / But it ' s made in a Hollywood basement / And Cobain can you hear the sphere / Singing songs of Station to Station / And Alderaan ' s not far away , it ' s Californication . "