Sand Dunes to Overrun Darth Vader’s Childhood Home - East Idaho News
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Sand Dunes to Overrun Darth Vader’s Childhood Home

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Getty 051613 StarWarsStormtroopers?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1374344058817Dan Kitwood/Getty Images(TUNISIA) — The house that Darth Vader lived in back when he was still Anakin Skywalker may soon be overrun by sand dunes, BBC News reports.

The house along with other buildings of the fictional city of Mos Espa on the planet Tatooine, are actually a set in the Tunisian desert, as seen in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. A new study measuring the rate of movement of sand dunes suggests that the set will soon be buried.

The crescent-shaped wind-blown dunes, also known as barchans, are moving about 15 feet a year, according to Ralph Lorenz, from Johns Hopkins University. Lorenz worked with Jason Barnes, of Brigham Young University, and Nabil Gasmi, of the University of Sousse, Tunisia.

The group measured the barchans’ speed by looking at satellite images, and determined that one will soon cover up Mos Espa.

Nearby, Luke Skywalker’s house from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, has already been at least partially covered by the sand.

The set will eventually emerge from the sand in a few years as the barchan moves on, though BBC News notes that it will likely not be in great condition.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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