ÌÇÐÄTV

The nature of the solar corona - the million degree solar plasmasphere - has puzzled scientists for decades. The related solar wind - the stream of charged particles from the sun - was predicted theoretically in late 50's, and later was detected by satellites in space. The solar corona and the solar wind play an important role in solar activity, and influence the state of Space Weather. The plasma emanating from the Sun can adversely affect space based satellites, and astronauts not protected by the earth's atmosphere. However, the exact mechanism that leads to coronal heating and the solar wind acceleration is not yet fully understand. In recent years several NASA, ESA, Japanese, and Russian satellites were launched to study the solar corona, the solar wind, and the solar activity. Today, the solar corona is observed with unprecedented resolution, and in parallel, theoretical and computational models of coronal heating and solar wind acceleration were developed based on data from satellite observations. The combination of detailed observations and modeling provide insights on mechanisms of coronal heating and solar wind acceleration that lead to improved understanding of Space Weather.