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The coldest place in the Universe?

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Andy Sawers
(@andy-sawers)
Posts: 742
Honorable Member
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Stumbled across this BBC story about the Boomerang Nebula, said to be just half a degree above absolute zero and certainly colder than the 2.7K of the cosmic microwave background.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20140916-the-coldest-place-in-the-universe

 
Posted : 19/10/2014 9:56 am
Mike Meynell
(@mikem)
Posts: 875
Prominent Member
 

This speed is why the Boomerang is so cold, Sahai explains.
Gas gets cold as it expands, which you can feel if you place your hand over a tyre nozzle as air is being let out. And if the gas expands as fast as it does in the Boomerang, it can get really cold. The nebula also contains a lot of gas, which makes it difficult for the ambient heat from the cosmic microwave background to seep in, helping the gas remain at a low temperature. With the exception of the artificial conditions created in certain laboratories on Earth, there's no known colder place in the universe.

That's fascinating... I had no idea that there were areas in the Universe with temperatures below background. All makes sense based on the above explanation.

Thanks for sharing.

 
Posted : 20/10/2014 7:44 pm
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