The Oort Cloud

The Oort Cloud is a vast, distant region surrounding our solar system, filled with countless icy objects and comets. Located far beyond the planets and Pluto, it extends nearly a light-year from the Sun. Think of it as a massive, spherical reservoir of frozen debris that occasionally sends comets hurtling toward the inner solar system when gravitational forces disturb their orbits. The Oort Cloud is considered the origin of long-period comets, and though we can't observe it directly, its existence helps explain how comets appear seemingly out of nowhere.