Oort cloud

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/oort-cloud

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the theoretical extent?Extends from approximately 2,000 AU to 200,000 AU from the Sun
2. What is the estimated population?Hypothesized to contain billions of icy planetesimals
3. What is the Oort Cloud and where is it located?The Oort Cloud is a huge, icy shell that surrounds our solar system. It sits far beyond the planets, at the edge of the Sun’s gravity, holding billions of frozen rocks from the Sun’s early days.
4. Why do comets come from the Oort Cloud?The Oort Cloud is the main source of long‑period comets. When a passing star or the Milky Way’s gravity nudges an icy body, it can be pulled toward the Sun and become a comet with a bright tail.

Planetesimals: Small celestial bodies formed during the early stages of planetary formation, serving as building blocks for planets.
Galactic Tide: The gravitational gradient across the Milky Way galaxy that affects celestial bodies.
Heliopause: The boundary where the Sun's solar wind is stopped by the interstellar medium, marking the edge of the heliosphere.
Sublimation: The process where a substance transitions directly from a solid to a gas, without passing through the liquid phase.