Oort cloud bodies and prevalence

AI Thread Summary
The Oort cloud is a distant region believed to contain many comets, but details about its largest bodies remain unknown due to its vast distance. Current astronomical capabilities allow for the detection of large nearby planets in other solar systems, but evidence of Oort-like clouds in those systems is too faint to confirm. Comets are classified as part of our solar system, with periodic comets and meteoroids being regular visitors. The discussion emphasizes the limitations in understanding the Oort cloud and the challenges of detecting similar structures in other solar systems. Overall, the Oort cloud remains largely a theoretical construct with limited observable data.
Loren Booda
Messages
3,108
Reaction score
4
What is the largest astronomical body in the Oort cloud? Do such clouds exist for most solar systems?
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
I don't think your questions can be answered now. The Oort cloud is so far away that I doubt if any details are known beyond the fact that it is there and many comets come from it.
As for other solar systems astronomers are able to detect large nearby planets. Analogies to the Oort cloud are too faint to detect today.
 
mathman said:
I don't think your questions can be answered now. The Oort cloud is so far away that I doubt if any details are known beyond the fact that it is there and many comets come from it.
As for other solar systems astronomers are able to detect large nearby planets. Analogies to the Oort cloud are too faint to detect today.

Are comets considered to be part of our solar system? What other bodies visit our solar system on a regular basis?
 
Periodic comets are part of our solar system. Other regular visitors include "rock" collections which are responsible for periodic meteor showers.
 
Last edited:

Thread 'Does it make sense to build new radio telescopes?'

TL;DR Summary: In 3 years, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope (or rather, a system of telescopes) should be put into operation. In case of failure to detect alien signals, it will further expand the radius of the so-called silence (or rather, radio silence) of the Universe. Is there any sense in this or is blissful ignorance better? In 3 years, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope (or rather, a system of telescopes) should be put into operation. In case of failure to detect...
View full post »
Thread 'Could gamma-ray bursts have an intragalactic origin?'

Thread 'Could gamma-ray bursts have an intragalactic origin?'

This is indirectly evidenced by a map of the distribution of gamma-ray bursts in the night sky, made in the form of an elongated globe. And also the weakening of gamma radiation by the disk and the center of the Milky Way, which leads to anisotropy in the possibilities of observing gamma-ray bursts. My line of reasoning is as follows: 1. Gamma radiation should be absorbed to some extent by dust and other components of the interstellar medium. As a result, with an extragalactic origin, fewer...
View full post »

Thread 'Could fast radio bursts be alien radar signals?'

Both have short pulses of emission and a wide spectral bandwidth, covering a wide variety of frequencies: "Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are detected over a wide range of radio frequencies, including frequencies around 1400 MHz, but have also been detected at lower frequencies, particularly in the 400–800 MHz range. Russian astronomers recently detected a powerful burst at 111 MHz, expanding our understanding of the FRB range. Frequency Ranges: 1400 MHz: Many of the known FRBs have been detected...
View full post »

Similar threads

B Strange spiral structure in Oort Cloud, outer Solar System
Replies
2
Views
957
I Oort Cloud Dynamics: Interaction, Composition, Hazards
Replies
3
Views
2K
I Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt: differences
Replies
3
Views
2K
I Why hasn't the Oort cloud converged to a disk shape?
Replies
33
Views
6K
I What causes Kuiper/Ort cloud objects to become comets?
Replies
5
Views
2K
I Why Is the Velocity of an Oort Cloud Object Approximately Zero?
Replies
5
Views
2K
B How Can Astronomy Even Occur? (Oort Cloud)
Replies
35
Views
5K
I Planetary Formation: Could Collisions Explain Our Solar System?
2
Replies
52
Views
6K
B Sholz's star entered the Oort cloud ~70kya
Replies
1
Views
2K
Scholz's star passed through the Oort cloud
Replies
1
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top