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The boundary of the Solar System

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Abstract

The shape of the boundary of the Solar System, defined as the surface within which the gravitational attraction of the Sun, rather than that of the rest of the Galaxy, controls the orbital motion of bodies such as planets and comets, has been determined. Outside of this surface, the dominant factors are the radial tides due to the galactic centre and, especially, the vertical tides caused by the galactic disk. Orbits which are direct with respect to the galactic plane, have a boundary which differs from that for retrograde orbits, both being 10–20% oblate and both larger than the, usually assumed, present Oort cloud. The surface may have been the boundary of the early cloud of comets which was later reduced by the passages of stars and molecular clouds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas, Austin, Texas, 78712, USA

    R. Smoluchowski

  2. Carnegie Institution, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Washington, DC, 20005, USA

    M. Torbett

Authors
  1. R. Smoluchowski
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  2. M. Torbett
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Smoluchowski, R., Torbett, M. The boundary of the Solar System. Nature 311, 38–39 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/311038a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/311038a0

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