Hosnian Cataclysm

The Hosnian Cataclysm, also known as the destruction of Hosnian Prime, the destruction of the Hosnian system, the attack on Hosnian Prime, the Hosnian Calamity, the Starkiller Incident, or the Starkiller Base incident, was the destruction of the Hosnian system by the First Order in 34 ABY during the Cold War that marked the annihilation of Courtsilius, Raysho, Hosnian, Cardota, and Hosnian Prime, the then capital of the New Republic, by Starkiller Base, a superweapon on Ilum inside the Unknown Regions that was capable of destroying entire star systems. The massive sub-hyperspace ripple created by the destruction of the system made the event visible in real time around the galaxy, including the planets of Takodana and Vardos.

With the destruction of Hosnian Prime came the destruction of the Galactic Senate and the Home Fleet of the New Republic Defense Fleet as the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance escalated into full open warfare. With the New Republic political structure decimated and its most important fleet in ruins, the First Order and its armed forces had established itself as the primary power in the galaxy as both the Resistance and the weakened New Republic were left vulnerable.

In the aftermath of the event, General Leia Organa of the Resistance organized a counterattack to destroy the First Order superweapon. The Battle of Starkiller Base ensued, resulting in the base's destruction moments before the Starkiller was ready to fire on D'Qar, the location of the Resistance base.

Text and facts from the “Hosnian Cataclysm” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.