A Spiral Structure in the Inner Oort Cloud: A Simulation Reveals Unexpected Findings
2025-06-05
New simulations reveal an unexpected spiral structure within the inner Oort cloud of our solar system. Researchers used high-resolution simulations to track millions of small bodies whose motions are influenced by both planetary scattering and galactic tides. The results show that the inner Oort cloud is not uniformly distributed, but rather a warped disk exhibiting two spiral arms, a direct consequence of Kozai cycles induced by galactic tides. This discovery offers new insights into the formation and evolution of the Oort cloud and provides new targets for future observations.