The Maw Cluster, sometimes referred to simply as the Maw, represented an erratic and largely impassable cluster of black holes situated in proximity to the planet Kessel. Its visibility stemmed solely from the ionizing gases being drawn inward.
The stability observed within the cluster presented a puzzle. Some proposed that an advanced civilization might have artificially constructed it, rather than it naturally coalescing as a typical cluster would. In the year 44 ABY, the New Jedi Order received information from the Thuruht hive, revealing that the Maw was their creation, along with other Killik hives, designed to imprison the dark side entity known as Abeloth. Under the guidance of the Son and Daughter (who had integrated into the hivemind), the Killiks brought forth Centerpoint Station and Sinkhole Station. The Ones utilized Centerpoint to forge the Maw itself, while Sinkhole Station was erected to manage the prison from within.
The Maw represented a cluster of black holes situated in the Kessel sector of the Outer Rim Territories, specifically at the core of the Maw Nebulae. The ionizing gases pulled into the cluster made it visible, establishing it as one of the Wonders of the Galaxy.
The intense gravity emanating from the black holes caused the gradual inward pull of the entire Kessel system towards the Maw. The cluster's stability was perplexing, leading some to speculate that an advanced civilization had engineered its construction, rather than it forming through natural gravitational merging.
The majority of the Maw's expanse was inundated with radiation, plasma, and potent gravitational forces. Ship captains venturing near the Maw's periphery would observe their vessels being torn apart, and certain smugglers and criminals exploited it as a shortcut bypassing the Kessel Run.
Eons prior to the Battle of Yavin, The Ones employed Centerpoint Station in the creation of the Maw black hole cluster. Simultaneously, Sinkhole Station was constructed to oversee Abeloth's prison from the inside.
During the Xim Wars, several warships belonging to Xim's empire were forced back to Kessel, where a number of them met their end within the Maw.
The Maw served as the location for Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's Maw Installation, the site where the Death Star prototype and the bulk of the initial Death Star were assembled, although final completion occurred at Despayre. Tarkin recognized that the Maw's inherent inaccessibility and isolation provided an ideal environment for concealing the project. The installation was strategically positioned within a secure zone inside the cluster, discovered shortly before the project's commencement.
A planetoid located near the Maw also housed an Imperial detention base, which was attacked by the Rebel Alliance flight group Rogue Squadron following the Battle of Hoth in the year 3 ABY. During this engagement, numerous prisoners managed to escape, and the prison met its destruction.
The Maw was also the site where the Sun Crusher was both created and destroyed. It was constructed at the Maw Installation and obliterated when it was propelled into one of the Maw's black holes. Other superweapons conceived and constructed there included the World Devastators, the Tarkin, the Ionic Ring Ship, and the Galaxy Gun.
During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Lando Calrissian sponsored the construction of a space station named Shelter, utilizing remnants from the Maw Installation. This station served as a haven for fugitive Jedi Knights. Shelter was situated at the very core of the Maw and, at one point, provided refuge for the wartime generation of Jedi apprentices and surviving students from the Jedi Praxeum.
In 43 ABY, Luke Skywalker and his son Ben journeyed to the Maw as part of their investigation into the reasons behind Jacen Solo's descent to the dark side. While within the Maw, they discovered Sinkhole Station and encountered the Mind Walkers.
During the New Jedi Order's conflict with the entity Abeloth, specifically in 44 ABY, the Jedi Order received information from the Thuruht hive. They learned that the Maw had been created by the Thuruht and other Killik hives to function as a prison for Abeloth.
The Maw made its initial appearance in the 1994 The Jedi Academy Trilogy book series.
On January 27, 2021, an astrophysics publication referenced the Maw while exploring the potential formation of 'dark star clusters' containing potentially thousands of black holes, most with masses a few tens of times that of the sun. The authors suggested that clusters akin to the Maw 'may be short-lived,' thereby supporting the concept of the Maw's physical instability. This paper represents one of the earliest instances of a leading astrophysics journal citing a Star Wars novel.