Final answer:
Exploration of the coldest regions on Earth, including the North Pole and Antarctica, reveals extreme temperatures where Antarctica holds the record for the lowest temperature recorded on Earth's surface. Laboratory experiments have reached even colder temperatures, while the coldest known place in the universe is the Boomerang Nebula.
Step-by-step explanation:
The exploration of polar regions and their extreme temperatures has been a significant challenge for human endeavors over centuries. The coldest regions on Earth, such as Antarctica, have seen temperatures plummeting to record lows of -128 °F (-89 °C) at research stations.
In contrast, laboratory experiments have achieved temperatures far colder, reaching as low as 1.0 × 10-10 K at the Helsinki University of Technology in Finland. Still, these pale in comparison to the natural cold of the Boomerang Nebula, the coldest known place in the universe outside a lab, with a temperature of 1 K.
Early explorers like Fridtjof Nansen embarked on perilous journeys to conquer the North Pole, while Norwegian, Viking sagas recount settlers discovering regions with remarkably temperate climates for their high latitudes. Antarctica remains humanity's key frontier for studying extreme cold, where research stations are the only permanent human presence due to the continent's incredibly low temperatures, even in summer.