How is energy from magnetic fields near the solar surface (photosphere) transmitted into the corona?
Scientists have studied the Sun for over 100 years, and although we have learned a lot about the major changes that take place on its surface and upper atmosphere, we still don’t have enough information about how various forms of energy move from place to place. One of the most important forms of stored energy is in the magnetic fields which can be concentrated and tangled up. When this energy is released, it can heat local gases to 100s of thousands of degrees or more. Scientists want to know exactly how this stored energy is released, and in what forms it makes its way into the solar corona. • How does this energy cause changes in the structure and interactions that take place in the corona? The release of magnetic energy is a complex process that involves changing one magnetic field shape into another, like taffy being pulled. Scientists want to know how magnetic fields change their shape in an explosive way to create solar flares, and how these changes alter the solar atmosphere an
