What is the Oort Cloud?

What is the Oort Cloud?

• A. a spherical shell around the solar system formed by comets with long orbital periods
• B. a flat disk of icy bodies beyond Neptune
• C. a region inside the asteroid belt
• D. a collection of meteoroids near Mars

Answer: (A)

The Oort Cloud is a distant, roughly spherical shell of icy bodies that surrounds the Sun far beyond the outer planets. It’s thought to contain comets with very long orbital periods, coming from all directions because the cloud encircles the solar system rather than lying in a single plane. This spherical distribution is different from the Kuiper Belt, which is a flat, disk-like region beyond Neptune that hosts icy bodies and mostly short-period comets. The asteroid belt lies between Mars and Jupiter, and there isn’t a recognized meteoroid cloud near Mars. So the best description is a spherical shell of icy bodies around the solar system that serves as a source for long-period comets.

The Oort Cloud is a distant, roughly spherical shell of icy bodies that surrounds the Sun far beyond the outer planets. It’s thought to contain comets with very long orbital periods, coming from all directions because the cloud encircles the solar system rather than lying in a single plane. This spherical distribution is different from the Kuiper Belt, which is a flat, disk-like region beyond Neptune that hosts icy bodies and mostly short-period comets. The asteroid belt lies between Mars and Jupiter, and there isn’t a recognized meteoroid cloud near Mars. So the best description is a spherical shell of icy bodies around the solar system that serves as a source for long-period comets.