July 21, 2022
The Oort Cloud is thought to be a spherical area of icy objects that surrounds our star at a distance of about 2,000 to 200,000 astronomical units (AU). Astronomers think long period comets and comets with very inclined orbits come from this region. Long period comets are those with orbital periods of over 200 years, some of the most famous of which are Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake.
This is an artists interpretation of the Oort Cloud – a sphere of icy objects that surrounds the Sun and extends beyond the edges of the Kuiper Belt. Image credit: Pablo Carlos Budassi