It s just weird says winebarger.
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 temperature in the corona is a blistering million or so degrees celsius.
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.
She likens it to walking away from a campfire and feeling colder and colder until suddenly getting very hot.
But the temperature at the sun s surface the source of that energy is a relatively balmy 5 500 degrees.
This solution to the coronal heating mystery was presented at a media briefing on april 28 2015.