Analyses of long-period comet orbits, semi-major axis distributions, and dynamical interactions with galactic and stellar perturbations provide robust empirical and theoretical evidence consistent with the existence of the Oort cloud.
The claim states that cometary orbits and distributions provide empirical evidence supporting the existence of the Oort cloud. Multiple retrieved papers examine long-period comets, orbital mechanics, and dynamical simulations (such as [2], [3], [6], [7], [10], and [11]), demonstrating how the observed characteristics of cometary populations match models of an Oort cloud source. None of the papers refute this foundational astronomical concept. Therefore, the balance verdict is SUPPORTED.