Boomerang Nebula
This gorgeous image to the left is of the Boomerang Nebula (also called the bow tie nebula). It is a protoplanetary nebula located 5,000 light-years away from Earth in the Centaurus constellation. It was formed by high-speed winds of gas and dust blowing from the aged star at the center of the image. The winds of charge particles blow at speeds of nearly 600,000 kilometers per hour. With a temperature of -272 °C, it is only 1 degree Celsius warmer than absolute zero (the lowest limit for all temperatures) caused by the rapid expansion cooling the nebular gases. This is therefor the coldest known region in the distant Universe - colder than even the cosmic background radiation. The Boomerang Nebula is believed to be evolving toward the planetary nebula phase. This Hubble image was recorded using polarizing filters and color coded by the angle associated with the polarized light. The Boomerang Nebula spans about one light year.
Credit: Hubble Heritage Team, J. Biretta (STScI) et al., (STScI/AURA), ESA, NASA
