Boomerang Nebula is the coldest place in the universe. It is a planetary nebula that is located 5000 light years away from the Earth in the Centaurus constellation. A planetary nebula is formed around a bright central star when it expels gas at a rapid pace near the end of its life. (Representative Image: Pexels)
With a temperature of -272 degree Celsius, as measured by astronomers Sahai and Nyman using a 15-metre Swedish ESO Submillimetre Telescope, it is 1 degree less than absolute zero temperature. Absolute zero is theoretically coldest temperature in the universe at -273.15 degree Celsius. (Representative Image: Pexels)
Comparing this with the coldest place on Earth, Vostok Station in Antarctica that recorded the lowest ever temperature at -89.2 degree Celsius, Boomerang Nebula would be roughly 3 times colder than the coldest place on Earth. (Representative Image: Pexels)
Boomerang Nebula was discovered by astronomers Keith Taylor and Mike Scarrot in 1980 while exploring the space with a large ground-based telescope in Australia. (Representative Image: Pexels)
Reportedly, due to the dense gases surrounding the nebula it appeared as a boomerang to them, but later it was revealed that the Boomerang Nebula is shaped like a bowtie or an hourglass. The hourglass or bow tie shape of the Nebula was identified in the year 2003. (Representative Image: Pexels)
