![]() It slowly formed a massive center and got hotter until it became the Sun. The Sun started as a cloud of dust and gas. Plus you can learn more about what’s in our Solar System with our Top 10 Facts on the Moon the planets Earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and the dwarf planet Pluto. ![]() So without further ado, let’s get started! From its composition and structure to its impact on our climate and environment, this list will explore some of the most interesting and important facts about the Sun. It is the source of all life on Earth, and its effects on us are far-reaching. Beyond it, the Sun’s magnetic fields and gravity are too weak to contain the plasma and it becomes the solar wind.The Sun is the largest and most powerful object in our Solar System, providing us with light, heat, and energy. Inside the corona, plasma is connected to the Sun. In December 2021, the Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to encounter and sample the corona, at a distance of 8.2 million miles from the surface of the Sun. ![]() Space missions, such as NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, help us learn more about the Sun and the hidden corona. They use a special instrument called a coronagraph to view the corona and watch for solar flares. Astronomers study the corona to better understand how solar storms impact Earth. When there are solar flares from the corona, larger than normal amounts of energy interact with our atmosphere, causing disruptions to power grids and satellite communications. There is still much to be learned about the corona! Studying the Coronaīecause of the high temperatures in the corona, particles are moving at a high enough speed to escape the Sun’s gravity and travel through space as solar wind. Another idea is that solar tornadoes, which are giant vertical spirals of plasma that interact with the Sun’s magnetic field, could also lead to high coronal temperatures. It’s possible that millions of nanoflares, which are tiny explosions happening at the solar surface, are creating the energy that heats up the corona. Researchers aren’t sure exactly why the corona is so hot. The corona is much hotter than the Sun's surface, about 1 million ☌ compared to 5,500 ☌ (9,940 ☏). Why is the Corona So Much Hotter Than the Surface of the Sun? The corona is wispy, white streamers of plasma (charged gas) that radiate out from the surface of the Sun. During a total solar eclipse, the corona briefly comes into view as the Moon blocks out the light from the solar surface. The surface of the Sun is far too bright to allow a glimpse of the much fainter solar atmosphere. ![]() Earth actually orbits within the atmosphere of a star! We Can’t Usually See the Corona The solar wind is really just an extension of the Sun's atmosphere that engulfs all of the planets. It extends many thousands of kilometers above the visible surface of the Sun, gradually transforming into the solar wind that flows outward through our solar system. The uppermost portion of the Sun's atmosphere is called the corona. The wisps of plasma are typically hidden by the brightness of the Sun’s surface. The Sun’s corona is visible during a total solar eclipse.
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