I’ve heard the term “solar wind” being used in a variety of scenarios related to space. Since wind isn’t possible in space, what exactly is solar wind and how is it caused?
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Solar wind is what we call plasma that is emitted from the surface of the sun. It’s not at all like wind we have on earth, as you pointed out, no air in space means no wind. It just moves in a wave away from the sun like wind. HOW it happens is not fully understood. It’s known that the thermal energy of the plasma/particles plays a part (the sun is famously pretty toasty), but it’s also thought the magnetic field of the sun plays a part.
Unfortunately it can’t be fully broken down for a 5 year old because scientists are still working it out
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