The coldest place in the universe- temperature at which atoms freeze- Boomerang Nebula, astronomers in Chile said.
About 5000 light years away in the Centaurus Constellation, the scientist at the ALMA Observatory said.
The nebula is "colder than the faint afterglow of the Big Bang, which is the natural backsround temperature of the space", the statement explained. It runs at a temperature of one degrees Kelvin (-272 degrees Celcius or -458 degrees Farenheit), making it "the coldest known object ink the universe,"the ALMA said.
The Boomerang Nebula is a relatively young planetary nebula, which is a glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from the outer layers of a sun like star in its final stages. It is expandly rapidly, and using up energy in the process, creating a cooling effect, permitting it to stay colder than the temperatures around it.
The image was captured by the Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array-ALMA-a telescope installed on a plateau 5000 metres(16400 feet), high in the Atacama desert, where almost no humidity or vegetation to block its view of the heavens.
This nebula is colder than the microwave radiation which prevades all the space. The radiation being remnant of the Big Bang, the explosion which forged the universe in trillion degree temperatures.
"One can say that Boomerang acts as refrigerator," said astronomer Lars-Ake Nyman , who measured its temperature using the European Southern Observatory radio telescope in Chile. He did this by comparing the signals received from Carbon monoxide in the nebula with signals from the background radiations.
Normally the cosmic microwave background photons would excite the gas to at least its own temperature. But the gas shields itself, and the photons from the microwave background do not penetrate deep into the outflow. The low temperature of the gas in the outflow therefore stays low.
This installation is a joint effort among North American, European and Asian agencies.
About 5000 light years away in the Centaurus Constellation, the scientist at the ALMA Observatory said.
The nebula is "colder than the faint afterglow of the Big Bang, which is the natural backsround temperature of the space", the statement explained. It runs at a temperature of one degrees Kelvin (-272 degrees Celcius or -458 degrees Farenheit), making it "the coldest known object ink the universe,"the ALMA said.
The Boomerang Nebula is a relatively young planetary nebula, which is a glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from the outer layers of a sun like star in its final stages. It is expandly rapidly, and using up energy in the process, creating a cooling effect, permitting it to stay colder than the temperatures around it.
The image was captured by the Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array-ALMA-a telescope installed on a plateau 5000 metres(16400 feet), high in the Atacama desert, where almost no humidity or vegetation to block its view of the heavens.
This nebula is colder than the microwave radiation which prevades all the space. The radiation being remnant of the Big Bang, the explosion which forged the universe in trillion degree temperatures.
"One can say that Boomerang acts as refrigerator," said astronomer Lars-Ake Nyman , who measured its temperature using the European Southern Observatory radio telescope in Chile. He did this by comparing the signals received from Carbon monoxide in the nebula with signals from the background radiations.
Normally the cosmic microwave background photons would excite the gas to at least its own temperature. But the gas shields itself, and the photons from the microwave background do not penetrate deep into the outflow. The low temperature of the gas in the outflow therefore stays low.
This installation is a joint effort among North American, European and Asian agencies.
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