: a spherical shell of cometary bodies believed to surround the sun far beyond the orbits of the outermost planets and from which some are dislodged when perturbed to fall toward the sun compare kuiper belt
Examples of Oort cloud in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The inner edge of the Oort cloud is somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 thousand Astronomical Units (AU, the length of the typical Earth-Sun distance) away.
—
Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 10 July 2023
The solar system includes the distant Oort cloud, a spherical collection of cometlike bodies bound by the sun's gravity that may stretch halfway to the closest star.
—Tim Folger, Scientific American, 18 June 2022
The colossal comet may be dashing our way from the Oort cloud at a speedy 22,000 miles per hour, per Space.com.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2022
The Oort cloud represents the very edges of our solar system.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 23 July 2021
The Oort cloud is even further than the Kuiper belt, a region where NASA has discovered the mysterious Arrokoth.
—Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, 1 Sep. 2020
Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 10 July 2023
The solar system includes the distant Oort cloud, a spherical collection of cometlike bodies bound by the sun's gravity that may stretch halfway to the closest star.
—Tim Folger, Scientific American, 18 June 2022
The colossal comet may be dashing our way from the Oort cloud at a speedy 22,000 miles per hour, per Space.com.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2022
The Oort cloud represents the very edges of our solar system.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 23 July 2021
The Oort cloud is even further than the Kuiper belt, a region where NASA has discovered the mysterious Arrokoth.
—Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, 1 Sep. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Oort cloud.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near Oort cloud
Cite this Entry
“Oort cloud.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Oort%20cloud. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Oort cloud
noun
: a spherical shell of small icy bodies (as comets) that orbit the sun far beyond Pluto
Etymology
named after Jan Oort, 1900–1992, Dutch astronomer
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share