The Maw Cluster, frequently shortened to just the Maw, represented a volatile and largely impassable cluster of black holes situated in close proximity to the planet Kessel. Its visibility stemmed solely from the ionizing gases being pulled into its gravitational embrace.
The stability of the cluster presented a conundrum, with some speculating that an advanced civilization might have engineered its existence, rather than it arising through natural merging processes. In 44 ABY, the New Jedi Order received information from the Thuruht hive revealing that the Maw had been constructed by them and other Killik hives to function as a confinement zone for the dark side entity known as Abeloth. Under the guidance of the Son and Daughter (integrated within the hivemind), the Killiks brought into being Centerpoint Station and Sinkhole Station. The Ones utilized Centerpoint to forge the Maw itself, while Sinkhole Station was erected to oversee the prison's integrity from within.
Located at the heart of the Maw Nebulae within the Kessel sector of the Outer Rim Territories, the Maw was a cluster of black holes. The ionizing gases drawn into it rendered the cluster visible, earning it a place among the Wonders of the Galaxy.
The immense gravitational pull exerted by the black holes gradually dragged the entire Kessel system towards the Maw. The cluster's inherent stability remained a puzzle, leading some to propose that an advanced civilization had constructed it, rather than it forming naturally through gravitational merging.
The majority of the Maw's expanse was characterized by intense radiation, plasma, and powerful gravitational forces. Ship captains venturing near the Maw's periphery would witness their vessels being torn apart, and certain smugglers and criminals exploited it as a shortcut bypassing the conventional Kessel Run.
Millennia prior to the Battle of Yavin, The Ones employed Centerpoint Station in the creation of the Maw black hole cluster, while Sinkhole Station was constructed to maintain Abeloth's [prison](/article/prison-legends] from the inside.
During the Xim Wars, a number of warships belonging to Xim's empire were forced back to Kessel, resulting in several being lost within the Maw.
The Maw served as the location for Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's Maw Installation, where the Death Star prototype and a significant portion 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 situated near the Maw also hosted an Imperial detention base, which was attacked by the Rebel Alliance flight group Rogue Squadron following the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY. During the conflict, numerous prisoners managed to escape, and the prison was ultimately destroyed.
The Maw also witnessed the creation and subsequent destruction of the Sun Crusher; 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 built there encompassed 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, to serve as a sanctuary for fugitive Jedi Knights. Shelter was situated at the very core of the Maw and at one point accommodated 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 quest to understand the reasons behind Jacen Solo's descent to the dark side. Within The Maw, they discovered Sinkhole Station and the Mind Walkers.
During the New Jedi Order's confrontation with the entity Abeloth, in 44 ABY, the Jedi Order learned from the Thuruht hive that the Maw had been established by 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, the Maw was mentioned in an astrophysics publication exploring the potential formation of 'dark star clusters' containing potentially thousands of black holes, most with masses several tens of times that of the sun. The authors remarked that clusters akin to the Maw 'may be short-lived,' thereby supporting the idea that the Maw would be inherently unstable. This paper represents one of the earliest instances of a Star Wars novel being cited in a prominent astrophysics journal.