Ad
related to: heliosphere vs oort cloud
Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The Oort cloud (/ ɔːr t, ʊər t /), [1] sometimes called the Öpik–Oort cloud, [2] is theorized to be a vast cloud of icy planetesimals surrounding the Sun at distances ranging from 2,000 to 200,000 AU (0.03 to 3.2 light-years). [3] [note 1] [4] The concept of such a cloud was proposed in 1950 by the Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, in whose ...
The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere, and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, tailed bubble-like region of space . In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding interstellar medium .
The cloud is thought to encompass two regions: a disc-shaped inner Oort cloud aligned with the solar ecliptic (also called its Hills cloud) and a spherical outer Oort cloud enclosing the entire Solar System. Both regions lie well beyond the heliosphere and are in interstellar space.
The Oort cloud is thought to be composed of comets that were ejected from the inner Solar System by gravitational interactions with the outer planets. Oort cloud objects move very slowly, and can be perturbed by infrequent events, such as collisions, the gravitational effects of a passing star, or the galactic tide , the tidal force exerted by ...
The asteroid and comet belts orbit the Sun from the inner rocky planets into outer parts of the Solar System, interstellar space. [16] [17] [18] An astronomical unit, or AU, is the distance from Earth to the Sun, which is approximately 150 billion meters (93 million miles). [19]
2012 VP 113 (possibly inner Oort cloud) Sedna, a dwarf planet (possibly inner Oort cloud) Oort cloud (hypothetical) Hills cloud/inner Oort cloud; Outer Oort cloud; The Solar System also contains: Comets. List of periodic comets; List of near-parabolic comets; Small objects, including: Meteoroids; Interplanetary dust. Helium focusing cone ...
The Kuiper belt is distinct from the hypothesized Oort cloud, which is believed to be a thousand times more distant and mostly spherical. The objects within the Kuiper belt, together with the members of the scattered disc and any potential Hills cloud or Oort cloud objects, are collectively referred to as trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). [21]
The hypothesized Oort cloud is thought to be a spherical cloud of icy bodies extending from outside the Kuiper belt and the scattered disk to halfway to the nearest star. During planet formation interactions of protoplanetary disk objects with the already developed Jupiter and Neptune resulted in the scattered disc and the Oort cloud. [86]