The coldest place in the universe is in the Boomerang Nebula, a cloud of dust and gases 5,000 light years from Earth. It has a temperature of -272°C (-457.6°F). It is formed by the rapid expansion of gas and dust flowing away from its central ageing star.
This cold region of the nebula was discovered in 1995 by astronomers using from data obtained by the 49-ft-wide Swedish-European Space Observatory-Submillimeter radio telescope in La Silla, Chile. In the area's coldest spots, the gases are believed to be expanding at 370,000 mph.
Colder temperatures have been achieved in laboratories on Earth.
