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barry barry
wrote...
Posts: 11630
11 years ago
What arguments are cited for the existence of the Oort Cloud of comets?
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wrote...
11 years ago
Long-period comets have very large orbits that carry them out tens of thousands of A.U. away from the Sun.  Kepler's second law tells us that the comets spend most of their time at these great distances.  Because the direction of the orbit and its inclination appear random, all this implies a vast cloud of cometary objects surrounding the solar system; i.e. the Oort Cloud.  Then in 2004 came the discovery of huge Sedna, the biggest solar system body found since Pluto; its orbit lies far beyond the Kuiper Belt, so it seems to belong to the Oort Cloud as well.
Would you know my name, if I saw you in heaven?

Eric Clapton
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barry Authorbarry
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Posts: 11630
11 years ago
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