The Oort Cloud: The Solar System’s Mysterious Boundary

The Oort Cloud is a vast, spherical shell of icy objects surrounding the solar system.
It may extend from 2,000 to over 100,000 astronomical units from the Sun.
Long-period comets, with orbits lasting thousands of years, are believed to come from here.
The Oort Cloud is thought to contain trillions of icy bodies.
It marks the outermost boundary of the Sun’s gravitational influence.
No spacecraft has ever reached the Oort Cloud, making it purely theoretical for now.
It was first proposed in 1950 by Dutch astronomer Jan Oort.
Passing stars or galactic tides may disturb Oort Cloud objects, sending comets inward.
The Oort Cloud is much farther away than the Kuiper Belt, which lies just beyond Neptune.
Studying it helps scientists explore the origins and evolution of the solar system.