What is Solar Wind?

This plasma consists of mostly electrons, protons and alpha particles with thermal energy between 1.5 and 10 Kev

The solar wind varies in density, temperature and speed over time and over solar latitude and longitude.

Solar wind speed (in km/sec) 800 700 600 50 400 At a distance of more than a few solar radii from the Sun, the solar wind is supersonic and reaches speeds of 250 to 750 kilometers per second Richard C. Carrington

In 1910 British astrophysicist Arthur Edington essentially suggested the existence of the solar wind, without naming it.

Kristian Birkeland

While early models of the solar wind relied primarily on thermal energy to accelerate the material, by the 1960s it was clear that thermal acceleration alone cannot account for the high speed of solar wind. NASA SVS 2012 Feb 5

The total number of particles carried away from the Sun by the s olar wind is about 1.3x 1036 per second

The total number of particles carried away from the Sun by the s olar wind is about 1.3x 1036 per second Thus, the total mass loss each year is about one billion kilograms per second.

Earth itself is largely protected from the solar wind by its magnetic field which deflects most of the charged particles