Scientists report that Anakin Skywalker's hometown is under attack -- not by Tusken Raiders but by the desert itself. July 19, 2013 6:11 PM PDT This tourist photo, acquired by the researchers in December 2012, shows the edge of the barchan making contact with a building on the Mos Espa movie set in Tunisia. (Credit: S. Slater) The sands of time might soon bury the sands of Tatooine. Sand dunes blowing over the Tunisian desert are poised to bury a famous "Star Wars" film set that served as the backdrop for numerous scenes in the "The Phantom Menace." More than a dozen buildings, real and mockups, still stand on the site of the fictional Mos Espa, where the young Anakin Skywalker grew up. But according to BBC News, mounds of wind-swept sand have made contact with some of the Mos Espa buildings, threatening to damage a popular geek landmark and tourist destination. For the past several years, scientists have used the fictional dwellings as a marker for measuring the migration of giant wind-blown crescent-shaped sand ridges known as barchans, which are produced by wind moving predominately from one direction. They visited the site located in the Tunisian region of Oung el Jemel in 2009, and noted that sands had already overcome part of a nearby set used in "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope." The roof on another set nearby collapsed under the weight of sand when the building was overrun circa 2005. The photo shows what damage could hit the Mos Espa site. (Credit: Ralph D. Lorenz, Nabil Gasmi, Jani Radebaugh, Jason W. Barnes, and Gian G. Ori) The U.S. and Tunisian researchers -- Ralph D. Lorenz, Nabil Gasmi, Jani Radebaugh, Jason W. Barnes, and Gian G. Ori -- have continued to track the area via Google Earth satellite images, and their paper on the topic (PDF), titled "Dunes on Planet Tatooine Observation of Barchan Migration at the Star Wars film set in Tunisia," was accepted for publication last month. The Mos Espa movie set, located on a clay-rich pan in an isolated field of barchanoid dunes, includes such famed spots as Watto's shop and the Skywalker slave quarters. The front edge of a 21-foot barchan, moving at a barchan-typical distance of around 50 feet a year, appears to be encroaching on the alley adjoining Anakin's homestead. The barchan will probably blow past Mos Espa, which will reemerge from the barchan assault, the BBC reports, but the site will likely sustain some damage. For some fans, the real-world locales featured in "Star Wars" stand as historically sacred sites worthy of great care. Last year, we wrote about the Save Lars restoration group, which got the go-ahead from the Tunisian government to repair original Lars homestead shooting location in Chott el Gharsa. See photos of their efforts in the gallery below. Saving Luke's 'Star Wars' home in Tatooine (pictures) 1-2 of 16 Scroll Left Scroll Right

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Scientists report that Anakin Skywalker's hometown is under attack -- not by Tusken Raiders but by the desert itself. July 19, 2013 6:11 PM PDT This tourist photo, acquired by the researchers in December 2012, shows the edge of the barchan making contact with a building on the Mos Espa movie set in Tunisia. (Credit: S. Slater) The sands of time might soon bury the sands of Tatooine. Sand dunes blowing over the Tunisian desert are poised to bury a famous "Star Wars" film set that served as the backdrop for numerous scenes in the "The Phantom Menace." More than a dozen buildings, real and mockups, still stand on the site of the fictional Mos Espa, where the young Anakin Skywalker grew up. But according to BBC News, mounds of wind-swept sand have made contact with some of the Mos Espa buildings, threatening to damage a popular geek landmark and tourist destination. For the past several years, scientists have used the fictional dwellings as a marker for measuring the migration of giant wind-blown crescent-shaped sand ridges known as barchans, which are produced by wind moving predominately from one direction. They visited the site located in the Tunisian region of Oung el Jemel in 2009, and noted that sands had already overcome part of a nearby set used in "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope." The roof on another set nearby collapsed under the weight of sand when the building was overrun circa 2005. The photo shows what damage could hit the Mos Espa site. (Credit: Ralph D. Lorenz, Nabil Gasmi, Jani Radebaugh, Jason W. Barnes, and Gian G. Ori) The U.S. and Tunisian researchers -- Ralph D. Lorenz, Nabil Gasmi, Jani Radebaugh, Jason W. Barnes, and Gian G. Ori -- have continued to track the area via Google Earth satellite images, and their paper on the topic (PDF), titled "Dunes on Planet Tatooine Observation of Barchan Migration at the Star Wars film set in Tunisia," was accepted for publication last month. The Mos Espa movie set, located on a clay-rich pan in an isolated field of barchanoid dunes, includes such famed spots as Watto's shop and the Skywalker slave quarters. The front edge of a 21-foot barchan, moving at a barchan-typical distance of around 50 feet a year, appears to be encroaching on the alley adjoining Anakin's homestead. The barchan will probably blow past Mos Espa, which will reemerge from the barchan assault, the BBC reports, but the site will likely sustain some damage. For some fans, the real-world locales featured in "Star Wars" stand as historically sacred sites worthy of great care. Last year, we wrote about the Save Lars restoration group, which got the go-ahead from the Tunisian government to repair original Lars homestead shooting location in Chott el Gharsa. See photos of their efforts in the gallery below. Saving Luke's 'Star Wars' home in Tatooine (pictures) 1-2 of 16 Scroll Left Scroll Right

Scientists report that Anakin Skywalker's hometown is under attack -- not by Tusken Raiders but by the desert itself. July 19, 2013 6:11 PM PDT This tourist photo, acquired by the researchers in December 2012, shows the edge of the barchan making contact with a building on the Mos Espa movie set in Tunisia. (Credit: S. Slater) The sands of time might soon bury the sands of Tatooine. Sand dunes blowing over the Tunisian desert are poised to bury a famous "Star Wars" film set that served as the backdrop for numerous scenes in the "The Phantom Menace." More than a dozen buildings, real and mockups, still stand on the site of the fictional Mos Espa, where the young Anakin Skywalker grew up. But according to BBC News, mounds of wind-swept sand have made contact with some of the Mos Espa buildings, threatening to damage a popular geek landmark and tourist destination. For the past several years, scientists have used the fictional dwellings as a marker for measuring the migration of giant wind-blown crescent-shaped sand ridges known as barchans, which are produced by wind moving predominately from one direction. They visited the site located in the Tunisian region of Oung el Jemel in 2009, and noted that sands had already overcome part of a nearby set used in "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope." The roof on another set nearby collapsed under the weight of sand when the building was overrun circa 2005. The photo shows what damage could hit the Mos Espa site. (Credit: Ralph D. Lorenz, Nabil Gasmi, Jani Radebaugh, Jason W. Barnes, and Gian G. Ori) The U.S. and Tunisian researchers -- Ralph D. Lorenz, Nabil Gasmi, Jani Radebaugh, Jason W. Barnes, and Gian G. Ori -- have continued to track the area via Google Earth satellite images, and their paper on the topic (PDF), titled "Dunes on Planet Tatooine Observation of Barchan Migration at the Star Wars film set in Tunisia," was accepted for publication last month. The Mos Espa movie set, located on a clay-rich pan in an isolated field of barchanoid dunes, includes such famed spots as Watto's shop and the Skywalker slave quarters. The front edge of a 21-foot barchan, moving at a barchan-typical distance of around 50 feet a year, appears to be encroaching on the alley adjoining Anakin's homestead. The barchan will probably blow past Mos Espa, which will reemerge from the barchan assault, the BBC reports, but the site will likely sustain some damage. For some fans, the real-world locales featured in "Star Wars" stand as historically sacred sites worthy of great care. Last year, we wrote about the Save Lars restoration group, which got the go-ahead from the Tunisian government to repair original Lars homestead shooting location in Chott el Gharsa. See photos of their efforts in the gallery below. Saving Luke's 'Star Wars' home in Tatooine (pictures) 1-2 of 16 Scroll Left Scroll Right

Posted by : Unknown Friday, July 19, 2013

Scientists report that Anakin Skywalker's hometown is under attack -- not by Tusken Raiders but by the desert itself.

July 19, 2013 6:11 PM PDT

This tourist photo, acquired by the researchers in December 2012, shows the edge of the barchan making contact with a building on the Mos Espa movie set in Tunisia.

(Credit: S. Slater)

The sands of time might soon bury the sands of Tatooine.

Sand dunes blowing over the Tunisian desert are poised to bury a famous "Star Wars" film set that served as the backdrop for numerous scenes in the "The Phantom Menace."

More than a dozen buildings, real and mockups, still stand on the site of the fictional Mos Espa, where the young Anakin Skywalker grew up. But according to BBC News, mounds of wind-swept sand have made contact with some of the Mos Espa buildings, threatening to damage a popular geek landmark and tourist destination.

For the past several years, scientists have used the fictional dwellings as a marker for measuring the migration of giant wind-blown crescent-shaped sand ridges known as barchans, which are produced by wind moving predominately from one direction. They visited the site located in the Tunisian region of Oung el Jemel in 2009, and noted that sands had already overcome part of a nearby set used in "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope."

The roof on another set nearby collapsed under the weight of sand when the building was overrun circa 2005. The photo shows what damage could hit the Mos Espa site.

(Credit: Ralph D. Lorenz, Nabil Gasmi, Jani Radebaugh, Jason W. Barnes, and Gian G. Ori)

The U.S. and Tunisian researchers -- Ralph D. Lorenz, Nabil Gasmi, Jani Radebaugh, Jason W. Barnes, and Gian G. Ori -- have continued to track the area via Google Earth satellite images, and their paper on the topic (PDF), titled "Dunes on Planet Tatooine Observation of Barchan Migration at the Star Wars film set in Tunisia," was accepted for publication last month.

The Mos Espa movie set, located on a clay-rich pan in an isolated field of barchanoid dunes, includes such famed spots as Watto's shop and the Skywalker slave quarters. The front edge of a 21-foot barchan, moving at a barchan-typical distance of around 50 feet a year, appears to be encroaching on the alley adjoining Anakin's homestead.

The barchan will probably blow past Mos Espa, which will reemerge from the barchan assault, the BBC reports, but the site will likely sustain some damage.

For some fans, the real-world locales featured in "Star Wars" stand as historically sacred sites worthy of great care. Last year, we wrote about the Save Lars restoration group, which got the go-ahead from the Tunisian government to repair original Lars homestead shooting location in Chott el Gharsa. See photos of their efforts in the gallery below.