Oort cloud

Theoretical cloud of planetesimals at the far edge of the solar system

Entitytrans-Neptunian object hypothetical entityQ40864

Also known as Öpik–Oort cloud · Öpik-Oort cloud

Instance of: trans-Neptunian object
, hypothetical entity
Part of: outer Solar System

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

The Oort cloud, sometimes called the Öpik–Oort cloud, is theorized to be a cloud of billions of icy planetesimals surrounding the Sun at distances ranging from 2,000 to 200,000 AU. Its existence was proposed in 1950 by the Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, in whose honor the idea was later named. Oort proposed that the bodies in this cloud replenish and keep constant the number of long-period comets entering the inner Solar System—where they are eventually consumed and destroyed during close approaches to the Sun.

Overview

All data

36 statements · 8% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Named after: Jan Hendrik Oort
Ernst Öpik
Discovered by: Jan Hendrik Oort
Members / parts: Hills cloud
Orbits: Sun

On other databases

26 identifiers linking Oort cloud across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

externally sourced

Source last edited September 28, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). Oort cloud (Q40864). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/oort-cloud-Q40864