The Solar Corona Is Much Cooler Than The Sun Surface

But the temperature at the sun s surface the source of that energy is a relatively balmy 5 500 degrees.

The solar corona is much cooler than the sun surface.

But the temperature at the sun s surface the source of that energy is a relatively balmy 5 500 degrees. Clear evidence now suggests that the intense heat of the sun s atmosphere depends on explosive bursts not continuous heating. Abstract the processes that heat the solar and stellar coronae to several million kelvins compared with the much cooler photosphere 5 800 k for the sun are still not well known1. It s just weird says winebarger.

This solution to the coronal heating mystery was presented at a media briefing on april 28 2015. She likens it to walking away from a campfire and feeling colder and colder until suddenly getting very hot.