20 Things You Somehow Missed In Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope
17. Alderaan's Planetary Shield Didn't Do Much To Stop The Death Star
And speaking of the unfortunate home world of Princess Leia Organa, a pretty intriguing detail when it comes to the brutal destroying of an entire planet in A New Hope has often found itself being overlooked.
If you slow down the shot just as The Death Star's superlaser reaches the innocent Core World, you can spot that the planet actually seemed to possess a planetary shield of sorts that was ultimately overwhelmed by the sheer power of the superweapon.
And while it was actually only confirmed in Legends that Alderaan boasted these defences and hasn't officially been made a part of Canon at time of writing, it would make sense for certain planets to utilise such defences at a time when the Death Star was starting to make its presence known in the galaxy.
Others have argued that this could've simply been the atmosphere igniting upon the laser's impact with it. But either way, the heartbreaking end result was still the same.