It's challenging to spot through a telescope: NASA's supercomputer has identified a spiral formation in the Solar System (photo).

New research uncovers surprising details about the mysterious Oort Cloud — a massive collection of icy objects surrounding the Solar System, which serves as a source of comets. Scientists suggest that it may possess a pair of spiral arms, making it resemble a miniature galaxy.

The shape of the Oort Cloud has remained a mystery, but a new model developed by researchers indicates that its inner structure could take the form of a spiral disk. When the scientists launched their research model on NASA's Pleiades supercomputer, they discovered that the inner region of the Oort Cloud (ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 AU, with one AU being the average distance from the Earth to the Sun, approximately 150 million kilometers) might exhibit a spiral structure akin to the arms of our galaxy. According to their calculations, these arms extend up to 15,000 AU.

What’s Next?

To validate these hypotheses, scientists will need to directly observe objects within the Oort Cloud or capture the reflected light. However, to date, no mission has the necessary technology for such investigations.

What is the Oort Cloud?

The Oort Cloud formed about 4.6 billion years ago when Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune ejected remnants of material far beyond Pluto's orbit. These fragments, which may even include dwarf planets, created a spherical shell around the Solar System. Its inner edge begins at a distance of 2,000 astronomical units from the Sun, while the outer edge can reach up to 100,000 AU.

Previously, "Telegraph" reported that on the night of Friday, February 28, a parade of seven planets could be observed in the sky. Some of them are quite difficult to see. A similar event will occur again in 2040.