Oort Cloud

The Oort Cloud is a theorised shell of icy objects that lie beyond the Kuiper Belt, as such the facts detailed on this page are hypothetical. Illustration Position Facts about the Oort Cloud Objects in the Oort Cloud are also referred to as Trans-Neptunian objects. This name also applies to objects in the Kuiper Belt. Some astronomers theorise that the Sun may have captured Oort Cloud cometary material from the outer disks of other stars that were forming in the same nebula as our star. The Oort Cloud is a reserve of cometary nuclei that contain ices dating back to the origin of the solar system. No one knows for sure how many objects exist in the Oort Cloud, but most estimates put it at around 2 trillion. The planetoid Sedna, discovered in 2003, is thought to be a member of the inner Oort Cloud. Astronomers think that long-period comets (those with orbital periods longer than 200 years) have their origins in the Oort Cloud. What is the Oort Cloud? The ...