= Nemesis (hypothetical star)
{wiki=Nemesis_(hypothetical_star)}
Nemesis is a hypothetical star that was proposed to explain certain periodicities in the extinction events in Earth's geological record. The idea emerged in the 1980s when astronomers suggested that a companion star to our Sun might exist in an eccentric orbit far beyond the Kuiper Belt. This star, if it exists, could potentially disturb the Oort Cloud—a spherical shell of icy objects surrounding the solar system—leading to a higher influx of comets into the inner solar system.
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