Ion trail

An ion trail was a detectable byproduct created by starship sublight drives or ion drives. It could be tracked by sensors to determine the direction a ship had traveled. Ships that were equipped with a cloaking device were able to mask this trail, either by dissipating it or storing engine emissions to be released at a later point.

Behind the scenes

Ion trails are used in most space sci-fi genres to various effects. Star Wars ships can only locate a direction of travel, while Star Trek ships can sometimes identify a class of vessel or which race produced the vessel simply by the ion trail it produces.

Appearances

Tales of the Jedi – The Sith War 4 Darth Bane: Rule of Two Darth Bane: Rule of Two audiobook "Heart of Darkness" — Star Wars Tales 16 Rogue Planet The Approaching Storm The Approaching Storm audiobook Labyrinth of Evil Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith novelization Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith unabridged audiobook The Paradise Snare Tatooine Ghost The Last Command The Last Command audiobook Darksaber Before the Storm The New Jedi Order: Star by Star The New Jedi Order: Force Heretic I: Remnant The New Jedi Order: The Final Prophecy The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force Dark Nest I: The Joiner King Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen Dark Nest III: The Swarm War Legacy of the Force: Tempest Legacy of the Force: Exile Legacy of the Force: Inferno Legacy of the Force: Invincible

Sources

• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (As "particle vapor trail")