Origin

• The solar wind originates in the corona, the sun's outer atmosphere.
  
  

High Temperatures

• The temperature of the corona is vastly higher than that of the layer below it on the sun. In fact, it is so high that gravity can no longer hold on to the coronal gases.
  
  

Variations in Solar Wind

• The solar wind moves away from the sun at different speeds depending on variations in the temperature of the corona.
  
  

Mystery

• While the basic facts about the solar wind are understood, many of the details of how and where within the corona the winds are accelerated to their high speed remain a mystery.
  
  

Linked to Coronal Heating Question

• Another unanswered question is how the corona reaches its temperature of 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit while the layer below it has a temperature of only 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.