Não há nada na Novelização Oficial do filme para indicar se o aviso que o Imperador sentiu foi em tempo real (nem nada para especificar a passagem do tempo entre receber o aviso e sua chegada a Mustafar), mas dado que Mustafar é descrito como sendo " uma colônia de mineração remota " no " Orla Exterior
Meu instinto é que o Imperador estava recebendo algum tipo de Force Premonition sobre seu aprendiz estar em perigo ao invés de sentir o lutar diretamente:
He didn’t have time to direct the search personally. The Force hummed a warning in his bones: Lord Vader was in danger. Mortal danger.
Clones scattered. He stopped one officer. “You. Call the shuttle dock and tell them I’m on my way. Have my ship warmed and ready.”
The officer saluted, and Palpatine, with vigor that surprised even himself, ran.
Também não há nada na Junior Novelisation do filme
Sidious knew he should have been pleased with the outcome of the fight. He had won, though it had been a near thing. But an uneasiness was growing within him, a sense of some threat not yet resolved.
Below, the clone commander boarded a Senate pod and rose to the level of the podium. “There is no sign of his body, sir,” he reported, saluting.
“Then he is not dead,” Mas Amedda replied.
Sidious nodded and reached out with the dark side, trying to sense where his enemy was hiding. As he did, the feeling of risk grew stronger, and he understood. Not a threat to him, but to his apprentice. He must see to this personally. “Double your search,” he told the clone commander, though he doubted they would find anything. He turned to Mas Amedda. “Tell Captain Kagi to prepare my shuttle for immediate takeoff. I sense Lord Vader is in danger.”
Mas Amedda bowed. “Yes, my Master.”
Desça a escala do cânon, o cânone do Legends Tokyopop! Star Wars: A Vingança do Cine-Manga Sith indica que a luta de Anakin com Obi-Wan estava acontecendo ao mesmo tempo que a luta de Palpatine com Yoda:
O filme Novelização gráfica é ainda mais conciso sobre o assunto