Serious now. About the corona (sun “atmosphere”) being hotter than the photosphere (sun “surface”), the mission itself might give clues on why, but I think that it’s the wrong question:
It’s less about the corona being hot and more about the photosphere being comparatively colder. My guess is that something in the photosphere composition reflects energy, either back to the nucleus or into the corona, and that a lot of the 1.3% of the Sun that are not hydrogen or helium are there.
Little by little, the night turns around… counting the leaves, which tremble at dawn… oh wait it’ll only reach the surface, my bad.
Serious now. About the corona (sun “atmosphere”) being hotter than the photosphere (sun “surface”), the mission itself might give clues on why, but I think that it’s the wrong question:
It’s less about the corona being hot and more about the photosphere being comparatively colder. My guess is that something in the photosphere composition reflects energy, either back to the nucleus or into the corona, and that a lot of the 1.3% of the Sun that are not hydrogen or helium are there.