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Coldest Place in the Universe

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the star-trek-episode-ideas dept.

Chris Gondek writes "The Sydney Morning Herald has an article on how NASA has released a high-quality image of the coldest place found in the universe. Five thousand light years from Earth in the constellation of Centaurus, the nebula, a gas cloud formed from a dying star, has a temperature of minus 272 degrees. It is only one degree warmer than absolute zero, the coldest possible temperature, when atoms cease to vibrate and radiate no heat whatsoever. This radiation is the remnant of the Big Bang, the explosion which forged the universe in trillion-degree temperatures. More than 11 billion years later, this heat has cooled to minus 270 degrees, but is still detectable."

10 of 315 comments (clear)

  1. Damn That's Cold.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Almost as cold as Hillary Rosen's heart 8^)

  2. I thought I found that last month... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You mean it's *not* my ex-girlfriend's soul?

  3. Coldest place in the Universe? by FungiSpunk · · Score: 4, Funny

    My bosses office at pay review time...

    --

    "I kill you! You no good 56'ing!"
  4. I Apologize in Advance by dupper · · Score: 5, Funny
    from the star-trek-episode-ideas dept.

    Most frigid place in the universe? They've already shown Janeway's quarters.

    Ba-dum-ch-OW! That hurt!

  5. MC Hawking said it best by TheOnlyCoolTim · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Creationists always try to use the second law,
    to disprove evolution, but their theory has a flaw.
    The second law is quite precise about where it applies,
    only in a closed system must the entropy count rise.
    The earth's not a closed system' it's powered by the sun,
    so fuck the damn creationists, Doomsday get my gun!"

    Tim

    --
    Omnia vestra castrorum habetur nobis.
  6. New Project by WoTG · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... and all of a sudden, 1000 Overclockers wonder, "How do I get my Athlon to Centaurus?"

  7. Re:If only... by mauthbaux · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can just imagine all of the overclocking freaks trying to figure out a way to use the nebula to keep their processors at a reasonable temperature.... Imagine computing life without heat-sinks or fans!
    of course, all those flaming processors would end up creating enough heat to send the whole nebula boiling away, and we'd be back searching for the ultimate cooling solution once again....

    --
    "Operating systems suck: you're better off using only the BIOS" --trainsaw.com
  8. She's as cold as ice.... by caluml · · Score: 4, Funny

    In 1995, American researchers cooled rubidium atoms to less than 170 billionths of a degree above absolute zero.

    I know a girl like that....

    --
    Get your own free personal location tracker
  9. Note from mom by andy@petdance.com · · Score: 4, Funny
    Be sure to wear a sweater.

    Love,
    Mom

  10. Re:Grumble, grumble - absolute zero by schon · · Score: 3, Funny

    I heard if an atom reaches absolute zero, its electrons will fall off

    That happened to a friend of mine, after he fell through into the lake on an ice-fishing trip.