Is the Oort Cloud Really at the Edge of Our Solar System?
This video is a part of a series looking at the Outer Solar System.
2025-02-24 19:00:00 - Astrum
The Oort Cloud is believed to be a vast cosmic shell at the edge of our Solar System that astronomers have never directly seen. The colossal structure contains trillions of icy bodies and stretches nearly a light-year radius from our Sun, taking light weeks to reach its inner edge.
Within, ancient chunks of ice larger than mountains drift in endless orbits, occasionally disturbed by passing stars that send them plunging toward the inner solar system as comets and potential hazards to Earth. So if no one has ever seen it, how do we know it even exists?
In addition to a general overview of the Oort Cloud, I’ll address the reasons why some scientists question its existence.
00:00 - Does the Oort Cloud exist?
01:18 - Solar system debris
03:20 - Observing comets
06:47 - How did the Oort Cloud form?
08:08 - Visit from another star
09:42 - How far away is the Oort Cloud?
12:33 - Grounds for suspicion
13:39 - Why can’t we see it?
14:57 - Up for debate