You think it's cold? The winter storm is nothing compared to these icy worlds
AUSTIN, TX (KXAN) -- Crippling cold weather is moving across the country, dropping temperatures to 16 degrees below zero in places like Forest Center, Montana, and 30 degrees in Austin.
Compared to other worlds, these low-freezing temperatures are actually kind of pathetic. In our solar system alone, Earth is one of only three worlds that sees temperatures above 32 degrees Fahrenheit (zero degrees Celsius).
The others, Mercury and Venus, are closer to the sun and, in the case of Venus, covered in a thick atmosphere. According to NASA, Venus's average temperature is 867 degrees Fahrenheit, while Mercury sits at a balmy 333 degrees Fahrenheit.
But what about those cold worlds, the icy giants that lurk just beyond our home world? And are there worlds so cold that the thought alone boggles the mind?
The frozen worlds of our solar system
There are five planets beyond Earth with frigid temperatures. Let's start with Mars, where the median surface temperature sits at a chilly negative 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Temps can plummet to a frigid negative 225 degrees.
Jupiter, the next planet in our solar system, doesn't have a surface temperature. The first of our gas giants is covered in clouds of water and ammonia that float in a sky of hydrogen and helium. The mean temperature of the planet is negative 166 degrees Fahrenheit.
Saturn, known for its icy rings, is a tad colder. The mean temperature is negative 220 degrees. However, the winds on this world could truly cut to the bone. Winds whip around at 1,600 feet per second near the equator, four times the fastest hurricane on Earth.
Saturn's north pole has a six-sided jet stream, according to NASA. This hexagon is surrounded by whirling winds and has a storm at its center. According to NASA, this is the only storm of its kind in the solar system.
Uranus, surrounded by icy moons, has a mean temperature of negative 320 degrees Fahrenheit. While Neptune barely beats it with a mean temperature of negative 330 degrees Fahrenheit.
Finally, the planet that's not technically a planet: Pluto. This dwarf planet is known for its icy surface. The rock has a mean temperature of negative 375 degrees. Part of the reason it is so cold comes down to distance; the rock is 3.7 billion miles from the sun.
A quick trip to 'Hoth'
Most of the planets in our solar system have nothing on the exoplanet nicknamed "Hoth." Located 20,000 light years from Earth, the planet known as OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb was discovered in 2006.
"Hoth," according to the European Space Agency, orbits a tiny red star. The star, five times smaller than our own, is near the center of our Milky Way.
Based on the size of the planet and the temperature of the nearby star, scientists believe its average surface temperature is around negative 364 degrees Fahrenheit, comparable to Pluto but much larger.