Have you heard of the Oort Cloud? The universe is an unimaginably large place that remains elusive in countless ways. New discoveries and theories keep coming that will always keep people wondering about what is out there. The unexplored vastness of space, especially beyond the solar system, has a way of fascinating us.
One such treasure that is going to keep us questioning, for at least another two decades or so, is the Oort Cloud. The cloud lies beyond the Kuiper belt but we don’t yet have the technology to send a probe there.
So, what is this ‘Cloud’? The 10 facts that we have for you here will hopefully go at least some way to answering that question.
1 The Oort Cloud is a shell of icy objects
This shell lies in the outermost reaches of the solar system. It is named for the Dutch astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort, who first theorised that it existed in 1950.
Did you know?
The Cloud is roughly spherical in shape and is thought to be the point of origin for most of the persistent comets observed in the solar system.
2 The Oort Cloud is a long way away
The inner ‘edge’ of the Oort Cloud starts around 2,000 Astronomical Units from the Sun. For context, 1 AU is 93 million miles. In terms of length, the Oort Cloud reaches about a quarter of the way to Proxima Centauri, the star closest to it.
Did you know?
The Cloud is a rough spherical and consists of an outer cloud of icy objects with an inner that is shaped like a doughnut. In geometry, a doughnut shape is called a torus.
3 The objects of the Oort Cloud are always changing
The objects contained within the Cloud interact with each other. This can include collisions or the gravity of objects influencing other objects that come too close.
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These interactions mean that new objects enter the solar system properly when they are kicked out due to collisions or gravity influences. It can also mean objects are added when they pass near the Sun and are flung into the Oort Cloud.
4 It’s possible the Oort Cloud may not even be real
The Oort Cloud hasn’t been physically proven to exist, this is because it is so distant that it cannot be observed. Today’s space telescopes are not powerful enough to see it, and today’s spacecraft are not advanced enough to reach it. Despite this, many astronomers believe the Oort Cloud to be legitimate.
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Did you know?
Nobody can know for sure how many objects are within the Oort Cloud, but most estimates put the figure at around 2 trillion.
5 Nobody knows the total mass of the Oort Cloud for sure
Nobody knows what the total mass of the Cloud is, and it won’t be known for quite some time. But it is thought to be (assuming the Cloud is even there), in the region of 5 times that of Earth.
Did you know?
For a little context on the above, the mass of Earth is 5.972 × 10^24 kg (5,972,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg. Give or take).
6 We can guess at what is in there
Perhaps the most well-known object that is believed to be in the Oort Cloud is something named Sedna. It is thought to be 3 times further away from the Sun than Neptune is.
Did you know?
Sedna is thought to be on the very edge of the solar system. Sedna is a dwarf planet, similar to Pluto.
7 The Oort Cloud is spherical
The Cloud is hundreds of billions of miles away from the Sun, so the gravitational effects of our star are minimal. For this reason, Our Sun has almost no effect on the shape of the Cloud… So why is it a sphere?
Did you know?
It is thought that the shape of the Cloud is influenced by what is known as galactic tides.
8 The Oort Cloud is very different from the Kuiper Belt
Even the closest objects in the Oort Cloud are estimated to be many times further from the Sun than the furthest part of the Kuiper Belt.
Did you know?
Unlike the Kuiper Belt, which is a rough disk around the Sun, the Cloud completely surrounds the solar system as a kind of icy shell.
9 There are believed to be two regions of the Oort Cloud
Astronomers believe there are two regions of the Cloud. The outer cloud and the doughnut-shaped inner.
Did you know?
The outer edge is roughly between 0.32 and 0.79 light-years away, while the inner is between 0.03 and 0.32 light-years away.
10 The outer edge of the Cloud defines the edge of the solar system
Because the outside edge of the Cloud is in an area of space where the Sun’s gravity is directly opposed by that of the Milky Way, the Ort Cloud is stretched in one direction while simultaneously compressed in another.
Did you know?
This phenomenon is known as ‘tidal truncation radius’ – beyond this point, the gravitational effects of the Milky Way are stronger than the Sun’s.
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