Lothal

Lothal (IPA: [loˑt̪ʰəl]) is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt and dating from 3700 BCE. Discovered in 1954, Lothal was excavated from 13 February 1955 to 19 May 1960 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the official Indian government agency for the preservation of ancient monuments. Lothal's dock—the world's earliest known—connected the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati river on the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the peninsula of Saurashtra when the surrounding Kutch desert of today was a part of the Arabian Sea. It was a vital and thriving trade centre in ancient times, with its trade of beads, gems and valuable ornaments reaching the far corners of West Asia and Africa. The techniques and tools they pioneered for bead-making and in metallurgy have stood the test of time for over 4000 years.

Lothal is situated near the village of Saragwala in the Dholka Taluka of Ahmedabad district. It is six kilometres south-east of the Lothal-Bhurkhi railway station on the Ahmedabad-Bhavnagar railway line. It is also connected by all-weather roads to the cities of Ahmedabad (85 km/53 mi), Bhavnagar, Rajkot and Dholka. The nearest cities are Dholka and Bagodara. Resuming excavation in 1961, archaeologists unearthed trenches sunk on the northern, eastern and western flanks of the mound, bringing to light the inlet channels and nullah ("ravine", or "gully") connecting the dock with the river. The findings consist of a mound, a township, a marketplace, and the dock. Adjacent to the excavated areas stands the Archaeological Museum, where some of the most prominent collections of Indus-era antiquities in India are displayed.

List of Star Wars planets and moons

The fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise features multiple planets and moons. While only the feature films and selected other works are considered canon to the franchise since the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, some canon planets were first named or explored in works from the non-canon Star Wars expanded universe, now rebranded Star Wars Legends.

Canon

The following list names prominent planets and moons from the Star Wars films or other canon media.

Star Wars Legends

These are planets with multiple appearances in the Star Wars expanded universe, now rebranded Star Wars Legends. The accompanying works were declared non-canon by The Walt Disney Company following its 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm.

Similarities to real world planets

NASA reported in 2015 that some planets in the fictional Star Wars universe possess similarities to scientifically confirmed exoplanets in the real-world universe: Coruscant (Earth-like world) is like Kepler-452b; Tatooine (world with twin suns) is like Kepler-16b and Kepler-453b; Hoth (cold world) is like OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb; Mustafar (hot molten world) is like Kepler-10b and Kepler-78b; and Kamino (ocean world) is like Kepler-22b. There are also similarities to Alderaan (Princess Leia's home planet) and Endor (the Ewoks' forested exomoon) in the real-world universe, according to NASA.