NASA is planning to send a probe to the sun to help answer two questions.
1) Why is the sun’s outer atmosphere so much hotter than the sun’s visible surface?
2) What propels the solar wind that affects Earth and our solar system?
Our scientists must have worked out some theories to both of these. I would expect this probe to be a test to identify which one it is.
For some reason I wonder about this. Our Sun is entering a high point in its cycle over the next few years. Why isn’t the probe going now so that we could understand what the impact is going to be? I would have thought we would have benefited more from sending it to monitor this point of the cycle.
It doesn’t say much but I’m hoping it will orbit the Sun and perhaps monitor it for a while. Perhaps giving us advance warning of Solar Flares or unusual activity. Make it worth the journey. Two questions doesn’t seem like much.
Why is the sun’s outer atmosphere so much hotter than the sun’s visible surface?
Isn’t its visible surface the outer atmosphere?
I remember reading that there was a reason for it but it seems it was just a theory. It was in the same way that the hottest part of a candle flame is the very top. Yes, tempratures are different in different parts of the flame. Try it.
We will just have to wait and see. Only another 15 years.