India's solar mission solves Sun's hottest mystery

Imagine a fire. The center is hot, yes? But what if the air around it was even hotter? That seems impossible — but it is happening on the Sun right now.

The Sun has a surface. We call it the photosphere. It is about 5,500 degrees Celsius. Hot, right? But above it is another layer. We call it the corona. And here is the mystery: the corona is about 2 million degrees Celsius. It is almost 400 times hotter than the surface below it.

This does not make sense. Heat should move down, not up. Scientists have asked this question for many years. How can the corona stay so hot?

A new space mission from India is now helping find answers. The mission sends special tools into space. These tools watch the Sun very carefully. They see things we never saw before. The mission takes pictures and measurements every day.

The new information shows hot waves of energy moving through the corona. These waves might be the answer to the mystery. They might bring heat from the surface up into the corona. Scientists think this is like throwing rocks into water. The rocks make waves. The waves move and carry energy. On the Sun, something similar might happen with energy and heat.

Understanding the Sun better helps us understand all stars. Stars are everywhere in space. They all work in ways we still do not fully know. When we learn why the Sun's corona is so hot, we learn about the whole universe.

The Sun gives us light and heat every day. We see it, but we do not see all its secrets. Scientists will keep watching. And one day, the Sun will tell us more.

Inspired by reporting from BBC News.