The Boomerang Nebula is colder than space itself

The Boomerang Nebula, about 5,000 light-years away in Centaurus, is the coldest known place in the universe: about 1 kelvin (−272°C), colder than the cosmic microwave background, the faint afterglow of the Big Bang. Its central star blasts gas outward; as the gas rapidly expands, it cools, much like gas in a refrigerator. The nebula is a snapshot of a Sun-like star shedding its outer layers before becoming a white dwarf.

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