The boomerang nebula ...located nearly 5,000 light years from Earth in the Centaurus constellation,
this place proudly claims the title of “the coldest place in the universe” and is even
colder than the space around it.
But where did this cold beauty come from and how exactly did it become as cold as it is
today?
Stick around to find out
A long time ago there was a red giant which is basically a star in the last stages of
its life.
It’s proposed that along the way a smaller star collided with red giant causing it to
shed its outer layers of gas and dust which went on to become the boomerang nebula we
see today.But that’s not what intrigues astronomers about this nebulae...it’s the
fact that the boomerang nebula is just one degree above absolute zero officially making
it the coldest place in the universe.
So what exactly is absolute zero ? Well you see temperature is measured by the movement
of molecules within an object.
The more energy a molecule has the more it vibrates and the higher its temperature is
. By the same token objects with lower temperatures have more stationary molecules due to less
energy.
In absolute zero the molecules of an object are at their lowest energy state also known
as zero point energy thus making the object at its lowest possible temperature.
The phenomena of absolute zero occurs at approximately -460 degrees Fahrenheit (-273 degrees Celsius)
or 0 kelvin.
The thing is though that we’ve never actually found an object that is at absolute zero or
made an object reach absolute zero ourselves however We have gotten pretty close before.
For example researchers at MIT once managed to cool sodium gas to less than a billionth
of a kelvin.
Now while that’s impressive and by no means am I detracting from human accomplishments
Its more amazing at how close nature managed to bring the boomerang nebula to absolute
zero without any artificial intervention leaving us to wonder how exactly did nature pull this
off?
remember what I said earlier about a red giant shedding its outer layers of gas and dust?well
as those layers continued moving through space they began to rapidly expand at approximately
10 times the rate that they would have had they been ejected from the red giant naturally
as rather than by a collision.
This rapid expansion caused the ejected gas and dust to cool to the temperature it’s
at today in addition to giving the nebula its remarkable hourglass shape.
Despite its immense beauty and remarkable structure , it’s unfortunate that the boomerang
nebula won’t be such a chill place forever.
Recently carbon monoxide emission were detected in the outflow of gas and dust.
Scientists claim this presence of carbon monoxide indicates that the nebulae is began to heat
up most likely due to a photoelectric effect where the electrons in the atoms of the dust
particles absorb ultraviolet light which in turn excites them and causes them to be ejected
from the atoms.
The electrons then move though the dust and gas carrying the absorbed photon energy in
the form of kinetic energy.
this kinetic energy possessed by the electrons as it treks through the nebulae causes the
clouds of gas and dust to heat up.There is also the possibility that the red giant at
the core of the nebulae can grow hotter which in turn will heat the gas dust cloud around
it.
So it’s inevitable that one day the boomerang nebula will lose that cool which made it famous
in the first place.
But the thing is we don’t know how long it will take.
Until then let’s appreciate the boomerang nebula for the beautiful sight it is...after
all just because it’s becoming warmer doesn’t mean it’s less marvelous to look at.
Also the boomerang nebula may not be the only icebox in the universe as astronomer Lars
Nyman from the ALMA Observatory in Santiago Chile states,“It’s possible these super
cosmic freezers are quite common in the universe, but they can only maintain such extreme temperatures
for a relatively short time.”
so while it’s comforting to know the boomerang nebula won’t be the last of the cosmic freezers
it does make me question what other wonders are out there in the cosmos?
Unfortunately we’re all out of time for today but if you want to continue exploring
the cosmos with me to find other treasures then hit that subscribe button and together
we can rule the galaxy or in this case nebulae as teacher and student.
Until then, don’t forget to stay tuned for more science videos