The new simulations revealed in the Oort cloud a trillion-mile-long spiral structure shaped by the gravitational field of the Milky Way galaxy, visible as a curving, dusty S-shape behind the sun.

The Oort Cloud is so far away from the Sun. (Representational) Scientists have long assumed the Oort Cloud, one of the most mysterious structures in our solar system, to be spherical.

To confirm the spiral structure's existence, Faherty contacted David Nesvorny, an Oort Cloud expert from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

A team of scientists accidentally visualized a hidden spiral in the Oort Cloud, and it might change everything we know about the solar system. Rachel Dillin Jun 11, 2025 11:26 AM EDT ...

The spiral, Nesvorny added, is in the inner part of the Oort Cloud, the closest to us, and he still believes that the outer portion is spherical or shell-shaped.

The spiral, Nesvorny added, is in the inner part of the Oort Cloud, the closest to us, and he still believes that the outer portion is spherical or shell-shaped.

An accidental discovery in an astronomy show offers researchers a new clue about the mysterious Oort Cloud, a large expanse of icy bodies revolving around the sun.

The existence of the Oort Cloud was first proposed in 1950 by Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, who imagined it as a shell of icy bodies swirling around the sun from up to 1.5 light-years away.