Abstract
Although the outermost planet, Pluto, is 6xl09km from the Sun, the Sun's gravitational sphere of influence extends much further, out to ∼2x1013 km. This space is occupied by the Oort cloud, comprising 1012–1013 cometary nuclei, formed in the primordial solar nebula. Observations and computer modelling have contributed to a detailed understanding of the structure and dynamics of the cloud, which is thought to be the source of the long-period comets and possibly comet showers.
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