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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 Oort cloud (/ ɔːr t, ʊər t /), sometimes called the Öpik–Oort cloud, 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). The concept of such a cloud was proposed in 1950 by the Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, in whose honor the
The Oort cloud is a hypothetical cloud of comets with a mean orbital radius between approximately 50,000 AU and 100,000 AU. No Oort-cloud objects have been detected; the existence of this classification is only inferred from indirect evidence. Some astronomers have tentatively associated 90377 Sedna with the inner Oort cloud.
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 scattered disc is believed to be the source region of the centaurs and the short-period comets observed in the inner planetary system. [85] 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.
Theia or Orpheus, [21] a Mars-sized impactor believed to have collided with the Earth roughly 4.5 billion years ago; an event which created the Moon. Evidence from 2019 suggests that it may have originated in the outer Solar System. [22] Vulcan, a hypothetical planet once believed to exist inside the orbit of Mercury. Initially proposed as the ...
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” “My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.”
The following list is of comets with very long orbital periods, defined as between 200 and 1000 years.These comets come from the Kuiper belt and scattered disk, beyond the orbit of Pluto, with possible origins in the Oort cloud for many.