T he Sun’s surface temperature is around six thousand degrees kelvin, but the solar atmosphere—the corona and the solar wind—can reach amillion degrees kelvin, a long-standing mystery in solar physics. Now, with data from the Parker Solar Probe, researchers have found evidence supporting a partial explanation for this mystery: magnetic waves driven by subsurface turbulence can impart energy to ions in these regions [1].

The solar atmosphere can reach a million degrees kelvin due to magnetic waves driven by subsurface turbulence, partially explaining the solar heating mystery.

Paper

Spacecraft Makes Progress on Solar Heating Mystery

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