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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 Kuiper belt, scattered disk, and Oort cloud are three conventional divisions of this volume of space. [1] [nb 1] As of April 2022, the catalog of minor planets contains 901 numbered TNOs. In addition, there are more than 3,000 unnumbered TNOs, which have been observed since 1993. [3] [4] [5]
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 ...
Numerous such comets have been observed when close to the Sun. The closer an object is to the Sun the faster it needs to move to maintain the orbit. Objects move slowest when furthest from the Sun (aphelion) and fastest when closest to the Sun (perihelion) and this is why Oort cloud comets spend most of their time in the Oort cloud.
When Pluto's significance was changed to dwarf planet, mnemonics could no longer include the final "P".The first notable suggestion came from Kyle Sullivan of Lumberton, Mississippi, USA, whose mnemonic was published in the Jan. 2007 issue of Astronomy magazine: "My Violent Evil Monster Just Scared Us Nuts". [3]
Artist's rendering of the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud. Freeman Dyson proposed that trans-Neptunian objects, rather than planets, are the major potential habitat of life in space. [citation needed] Several hundred billion to trillion comet-like ice-rich bodies exist outside the orbit of Neptune, in the Kuiper belt and Inner and Outer Oort cloud.
So far, it appears that rather than a sudden drop in the amount of comets orbiting the sun at about 50,000 AU, the Oort cloud rather uniformly decreases in size, the further away from the Sun it goes. As current observations indicate, the Oort limit is somewhere around 50,000 AU (0.8 LY) from the Sun.