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Heliocentric System

OORT CLOUD

oort cloud.jpg
  1. Distant Region: The Oort Cloud is a hypothetical, vast, and mostly spherical region that is believed to exist in the outermost reaches of the solar system, far beyond the Kuiper Belt. It is thought to extend from about 2,000 to 200,000 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun.

  2. Comet Reservoir: The Oort Cloud is believed to be the source of long-period comets, which are comets with orbital periods greater than 200 years. These comets originate from the Oort Cloud and are occasionally gravitationally perturbed, sending them on highly elliptical orbits that bring them into the inner solar system.

  3. Icy Objects: The Oort Cloud is presumed to contain trillions of icy bodies, composed primarily of volatile compounds such as water, methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide. These objects are remnants from the early formation of the solar system and are thought to be relatively undisturbed since their creation billions of years ago.

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