ICER

In 1950, Jan Hendrick Oort proposed the existence of a cloud 10,000 - 100,000 AU from the sun. (Named the Oort cloud) that surrounds our solar system. The cloud contains trillions of loose lumps of dust and volatile gases, near-perfect examples of the stuff planets were made of.

Now. My question is, if this cloud surrounds our solar system. Does it not hinder our view of what lies beyond?

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Slavakion

According to my source, http://www.solarviews.com/eng/oort.htm, it exists as a (realatively) spherical cloud around our solar system at the very edge of the Sun's gravitational influence. 3 light years away. Or roughly 2.8*10^13 kilometers. Can we see that far? Maybe, but I really doubt it. Or are you asking if the cloud would eventually interfere with our sight?

EDIT: Oh, you mean why can we see other galaxies/solar systems? I dunno, I've never taken astronomy.

ICER

Sorry, let me specify. Would it not interfere with viewing of other heavily bodies through a telescope. Radio or otherwise

__________________
What's the difference between congress and a penitentiary?
One is filled with tax evaders, blackmailers and threats to society.
The other is for housing prisoners.
~~David Letterman

MageB420666

Not really, your thinking of a cloud in terms of a nebula or some other relatively dense gathering of material, as far as I understand it, this "cloud" is nothing more than an area of space that has a higher concentration of materials in it than "open" space. There can still be hundreds and thousands of miles of room between the objects in this "cloud", allowing us to see through it as if it isn't really there.

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ICER

according to my source. Its mass is about 40 times that of earth. But given the area in covers. It's not very dense at all. So you’re probably right Mageb420666.

Here's a hypnotize (which may be me being too literal) is it a fine layer spread across the distance. Making our viewing (for the lack of a better word) smudged. As though we are looking through a dirty window? Is Andromeda really another galaxy? Or are we seeing something complete different. Thanks to a stain on the window?

__________________
What's the difference between congress and a penitentiary?
One is filled with tax evaders, blackmailers and threats to society.
The other is for housing prisoners.
~~David Letterman

munchen

im not really sure of this cloud but if it is like a nebula it would do almost nothin to obstruct our veiw. i dont remember the excat density of nebulae but the are much less dense then the best vacuums we can create here on earth. interstellar medium can block our veiw of things but they would have to be billions of light years away.

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iamnormal

I would think it is more like looking though a clean window. Even clear clean glass blocks some light but looking through it is hard the tell any light is blocked.

MageB420666

Very good comparison. Wish I had thought of it.

Although for a better comparison(now that you've got me thinking about it) about a milliliter of air put into a ten million liter box would provide about as much distortion and light filtering as what actually happens. Space tends to be very empty.

As for Anromeda, we've got some pretty good pictures of it, most of them use different elecromagnetic wavelengths than what the human eye can see, which means that many of them can pass through objects with very little distortion instead of being absorbed as light would so the wavelengths have to be converted using computers to allow us to see them, when this happens they also filter out static, and various other distortions are corrected using massively complex physics programs. NASA and other organizations do not spend billions of dollars every year to take pictures and then not make sure that they are as clear and accurate as possible. Why do you think they spent so much money fixing Hubble instead of just using fuzzy photos?

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Apathy: The best outlook this side of I don't give a damn.

Xell101

I'm thinking the only reason it is even noted is becuase what it says on the effects of gravity and all that.

ICER

I got it, here's a prime example of it. I was walking through a field today. I looked ahead and saw (quite clearly) a tree off in the distance. I could make out every little detail on the tree. Then I walked right trough a swarm of gnats. When I passed through them. I noticed that the tree and NOT become any clearer. It looked the exact same.

Then it hit me. (No, not the tree) My sight was a telescope, the tree a heavenly body, and the gnats the Oort cloud. No matter what kind of vision I was using. The gnats where not significant enough to obstruct my view but was enough to catch my notice when I walked through it.

__________________
What's the difference between congress and a penitentiary?
One is filled with tax evaders, blackmailers and threats to society.
The other is for housing prisoners.
~~David Letterman