Where is the Oort Cloud thought to be located?
Quick Answer
The Oort Cloud is thought to surround the Solar System in a vast spherical shell far beyond the planets. It is a hypothetical reservoir of long-period comets.
The Full Story
The Oort Cloud is believed to lie far beyond the Kuiper Belt, starting perhaps around 2,000 astronomical units from the Sun and extending out to roughly 100,000 AU or more. It has never been directly observed, but it is the leading explanation for the source of many long-period comets. Dutch astronomer Jan Oort proposed the idea in 1950. Because it is so distant, objects there receive only a tiny fraction of the Sun’s light and take thousands to millions of years to orbit once.
Key Facts
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Suggested video title for this topic:
"The hidden cloud at the edge of the Sun’s domain"
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