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The temperature in space is close to "absolute zero" because any object there will radiate heat until it cools to that point. This is for objects not exposed to direct sunlight. In Earth orbit, the temperature of objects in sunlight can rise to 120°C/ 250°F. The actual temperature in space is about 3°K (-270°C or three degrees Celsius above Absolute Zero). There are still molecules in space, just very few of them, and this is their temperature.

Absolute zero is a theoretical temperature where the thermal kinetic energy of the molecules in a body goes to zero. This cannot be achieved through artificial or natural means, because there is no way to remove the last small amount of thermal energy. The coldest temperature in space is about 3°K above absolute zero. This is defined as the Cosmic Background (or Microwave Background) Radiation that was first detected by Penzias and Wilson using the Holmdel Horn Antenna in New Jersey, USA in 1965. This radiation quite literally is the echo of the Big Bang.

Assuming you're measuring the temperature of pure space, or an area in which there is no matter that could absorb the sun's radiation and thereby heat up, the temperature would be -459° Fahrenheit, -273° Celsius, or 0 on the Kelvin scale.

Cosmic Background RadiationThe temperature is not absolute zero because there is a pervasive background radiation, with an equivalent temperature of 2.7 K. Alternate view:This is an amateur opinion. When measuring, for example, the heat of a distant star, one is not measuring the heat of the intervening space, even though the radiation we are detecting passes through it. It is possible that the same thing can be argued for the background radiation. An analogy might be that if a photon of light reaches earth, it is because that photon was not absorbed by anything during its trip, not even the tiniest particle of matter. Clearly, photons that are absorbed along the way never reach us. It might even be possible in a weird quantum sense that the photon may just be a probability greater than 0 and less than 1 until and unless it is absorbed by something.

So it may be that completely empty space has no temperature at all (not even absolute zero), because there is nothing in it to either absorb or be void of heat. Empty space is not capable of absorbing or radiating heat. If a thermometer were placed in absolutely empty intergalactic space, it would probably eventually register the background radiation, but this would be because the thermometer itself has absorbed radiation that would otherwise not have been absorbed and that would have continued to propagate through space.

Here is another way to consider the same question. Say that a perfect or near perfect vacuum could be created here on earth, in a lab at ordinary room temperature. What would you claim to be the temperature of this vacuum, and what information would you use to support your claim? Temperature is a characteristic of matter, and not of vacuum.

Correction to the aboveThe question does not ask the temperature OF space, but rather IN space. Radiation from anything in space will cool it without any need for a conducting medium. The loss of heat will continue until the object reaches very nearly absolute zero. If an object receives sufficient radiation from the Sun, it will heat only the surface exposed to the Sun, and cool from the others. So spacecraft that are designed to reflect the Sun's heat will need another heat source to keep the interior warm. This varies from temp to temp. Usually it is 2-4 degrees kelvin. Sometimes hotter depending on where you are in space. Otherwise it is -400 degrees Fahrenheit. Pretty darn cold if you ask me. Don't go into the cold recesses of space without a space suite.
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8y ago
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14y ago

The Sun's core has a tremendously high temperature and pressure. The temperature is roughly 15 million °C. At this temperature, nuclear fusion occurs, turning four hydrogen nuclei into a single helium nucleus plus a LOT of energy. This "hydrogen burning" releases gamma rays (high-energy photons) and neutrinos (particles with no charge and almost no mass).

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13y ago

Space isn't occupied by matter, so it has no temperature by itself. If a comet or asteroid is orbiting the sun, it's actually made of matter and has a measurable temperature as it proceeds in its orbit. (The sun can shine on its surface and sunlight can warm the surface.)

Because space has has no way to transfer heat away from objects occupying it by conduction or convection, since it has no matter to do so with, it's an excellent insulator.

Space, by itself, has no temperature. Objects in it do have a temperature.

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14y ago

The space around the Earth is a vacuum. As a result, there are no (or very few) atoms around to impart energy to an object. Temperature is energy, specifically, the energy contained in atoms that can impart energy (heat) to an object in their proximity. The conclusion would seem to be that there is no temperature in space around the Earth. The absence of temperature (energy, heat) is called Absolute Zero, or zero degrees Kelvin. (Or about -273 degrees Celsius, or about -459 degrees Fahrenheit). Of course, there is also radiant energy, such as provided by the Sun or other radiation present in space, which can cause heat. This answer assumes no contribution from radiant energy. (This is only an educated asumption, based on intermediate physics and logic. If there is someone more knowledgable, perhaps an astrophysicist, out there, please feel free to correct this answer.)

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6y ago

The lowest temperature found in outer space is about 3 Kelvin. (This is -270°C or -454°F. 0 Kelvin is absolute zero.) This temperature is caused by cosmic microwave background radiation, which is present in the entire universe. Many parts of space have higher temperatures, because there are some particles present, like gas clouds, planets or stars.

Inside our solar system the lowest temperature is about 40 Kelvin (-233°C / -388°F), because of the presence of particles.
Very cold! Outer space is about 3 degrees Kelvin, which is about -270 degrees Celsius or -454 degrees Fahrenheit! That means it's only a few degrees warmer than the coldest anything can ever get!

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13y ago

The lowest theoretical temperature is 'Absolute Zero', -273.15C, or zero degrees Kelvin. Any atoms at this temperature will freeze of into nothing and remain motionless.

Nothing actually exists at that temperature; everything in the universe is at least a fraction of a degree warmer than zero Kelvin.

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12y ago

Somewhere around 15 million degrees. Kelvin, although at that temperature it really doesn't much MATTER what scale we measure it on.

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13y ago

The Cosmic Background Radiation has a thermal black body spectrum at a temperature of 2.725 K, which is the accepted temperature of the Universe.

See related link for more information.

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12y ago

According to Wikipedia, this is estimated at 15.7 million kelvin.

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13y ago

The suns core is thought to be around 14.5 million degrees Celsius.

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