Surprising discovery at the edge of the Solar System: Spiral structure found in the Oort Cloud

The outermost reaches of the Solar System are still full of unknowns. However, scientists have discovered a hitherto unknown spiral structure in the Oort Cloud. A new computer simulation shows that the Milky Way's gravitational pull creates a giant spiral in the inner part of the Oort Cloud.

The study, led by astronomer David Nesvorný from the Southwest Research Institute in the US, is being prepared for publication in the journal The Astrophysical Journal . The researchers simulated the evolution of the Solar System over 4.6 billion years using NASA's Pleiades Supercomputer.

The Oort Cloud's infinite structure is revealed

The Oort Cloud is known as the most distant region of the Solar System and consists of icy rocks extending up to 100,000 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. For many years, scientists thought that the outer part of the Oort Cloud was spherical and the inner part was toroidal (ring-shaped). However, new simulations have shown that this inner structure is actually spiral-shaped.

According to the study, the gravitational forces of the Milky Way create a spiral structure with a diameter of 15,000 AU in the inner part of the Oort Cloud. This structure emerged in the early periods of the Solar System and has survived to the present day. The data obtained show that this spiral formation cannot be explained by the gravitational effects caused by transiting stars.

Could shed light on the past of our planetary system

Scientists say this new discovery provides important clues about the formation and evolution of the Oort Cloud. The Oort Cloud is known to be a region that sends long-period comets to the Solar System, and understanding its structures could shed light on the history of our planetary system.

However, this spiral structure is very difficult to observe directly. The Oort Cloud is located so far from the Sun that it cannot be imaged with current telescopes. However, researchers will continue their work to see if future observational data will confirm this structure.

This important discovery is considered a big step towards solving the unknowns about the formation process of the Solar System. Scientists hope to study the structure of the Oort Cloud in more detail with more advanced technologies in the coming years.