Which structure is responsible for generating long-period comets that take hundreds or millions of years to orbit the Sun?
Answer
The Oort Cloud
The Oort Cloud is the source region responsible for long-period comets. These visitors take exceptionally long times to return, completing an orbit around the Sun over periods measured in hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years. This long orbital period is a direct consequence of their formation location deep in space, where the Sun's gravitational pull is extremely weak, allowing external forces like passing stars to significantly alter their paths toward the inner system.
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