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> thoroughly mapped the Oort Cloud So it’s interesting that the Oort Cloud is often mentioned as a real thing. Surely there are plenty of bodies discovered whi
by AStonesThrow 1y ago
> thoroughly mapped the Oort Cloud
So it’s interesting that the Oort Cloud is often mentioned as a real thing. Surely there are plenty of bodies discovered which are orthogonal to its existence, but Oort’s “Cloud” itself still enjoys only the status of hypothesis and not reality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud
Sadly, even Wikipedia editors seem unable to distinguish between the formal definitions of “hypothesis” vs. “theory” when delivering such a scientific article.
- codethief 1y agoOh wow, looks like I'm one of today's lucky 10,000! Thanks so much!
- mandevil 1y agoYou are correct, I meant to say Kuiper Belt, not Oort Cloud, pulled the wrong thing out of my memory. Unlike the Oort Cloud, we are doing a good job of mapping KBO's as we speak.
- throwaway2k255 1y agoIf the furthest objects of the Oort Cloud are over 3 light years away, it is relatively close to Alpha Centauri. Is there a chance that Alpha Centauri also has its own cloud that overlaps with it? Would AC influence the cloud and adjust the orbit of smaller comets?
- TheOtherHobbes 1y agoThere's a chance, but no one knows for sure. Oort Clouds are mostly empty space, so there wouldn't be much direct interaction. But there would certainly be gravitational effects. My guess (FWIW) is there's more out there than we suspect, likely including plenty of rogue/wandering planets between systems.