solar atmosphere

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | 556 words | Copyright

solar atmosphere The region around the Sun including the photosphere, chromosphere, transition region, and corona. The temperature of the solar atmosphere varies with height, at first decreasing to the temperature minimum region, and then increasing, very strongly so in the transition region. The cause of the temperature rise is still uncertain, but possible mechanisms include the dissipation of sound waves (in the low chromosphere) and magnetohydrodynamic waves (in the rest of the chromosphere and corona), or heating following magnetic reconnection.

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