Oort cloud
/ˈɔːrt klaʊd/
Oort cloud is the alternative letter-case form of Oort Cloud.
Noun
Oort cloud (plural Oort clouds)
Proper noun capitalized: Oort Cloud
the Oort Cloud
- The Solar System's Oort cloud, extending from 50,000 to 100,000 astronomical units (approximately 1 light year) from the sun; supposedly the source of most comets around the Solar System.
- Synonyms:
- Öpik-Oort Cloud
Synonyms of Oort cloud
Forms of Oort cloud
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | Oort clouds |
| Proper noun | |
| alternative form | Oort cloud |
Origin of Oort cloud
A cloud-like structure, named after Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, who proposed it.
Named after the Dutch astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort, who revived the Estonian astronomer Ernst Öpik’s idea from 1932 of a reservoir of long-period comets in the form of an orbiting cloud at the outermost edge of the Solar System in 1950 to resolve a paradox about the origin of comets.
Questions about Oort cloud
- What does Oort cloud mean?
- Oort cloud means a roughly spherical region of space composed of comet-like bodies and other minor planets and asteroids that orbit distantly in a planetary system.
- What is Oort cloud the alternative letter-case form of?
- Oort cloud is the alternative letter-case form of Oort Cloud.
- What part of speech is Oort cloud?
- Oort cloud can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce Oort cloud?
- Oort cloud is pronounced /ˈɔːrt klaʊd/.
- What is the plural of Oort cloud?
- The plural of Oort cloud is Oort clouds.
Words near Oort cloud in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Oort cloud (page history and authors); Oort Cloud (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “Oort cloud.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/oort_cloud. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.