A miniature version of the Milky Way has been found at the edge of the Solar System. Discover what it is (photo included).

The most well-known example of a spiral structure is our galaxy, the Milky Way. Now, scientists using NASA's supercomputer have discovered another spiral structure at the edge of the Solar System. This structure consists of billions of comets and is located within a shell of icy objects known as the Oort Cloud, which surrounds our planetary system. This shell has a width nearly 100,000 times greater than the distance between the Earth and the Sun (which is 150 million km), but astronomers have not yet known its exact structure. New data provides some clues. The research has been published on the arXiv preprint server, writes Space.

As shown by the simulation based on available data generated on NASA's supercomputer, some comets in the inner part of the Oort Cloud create a long-lived spiral structure. It is located at a distance of between 1,000 and 10,000 astronomical units from us (one astronomical unit is 150 million km). Astronomers have determined that this spiral structure is approximately 15,000 astronomical units long and runs perpendicular or at a 90-degree angle to the plane of the Milky Way. They believe this spiral structure consists of billions of comets. Furthermore, scientists have found that this structure is not temporary but has existed for a long time and can be detected, although it is very challenging to do so.

The Oort Cloud is a spherical shell surrounding the Solar System and is considered its outer boundary. The Oort Cloud, which consists of a vast number of comets and icy trans-Neptunian objects, lies far beyond the orbit of the planet Neptune, located 4.5 billion km from the Sun. It is believed that many comets originate from the Oort Cloud as they travel into the inner Solar System. Theoretically, trans-Neptunian objects are made of material that existed when the planets of the Solar System formed about 4.5 billion years ago.

Astronomers say that it is currently impossible to directly observe the spiral structure in the Oort Cloud, as the comets that make it up are so distant that they reflect very little sunlight. Additionally, they are relatively small.

If Earth were located at the near edge of the Oort Cloud, at a distance of 1,000 astronomical units from us, it could be seen with a very large telescope. However, comets are much smaller than our planet, making them impossible to see at such a distance. Nevertheless, astronomers hope that the spiral structure can be observed using the powerful Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which is set to begin operations later this year.