If the sunspots are magnetic wouldn they pull the satellites orbiting the Sun into the Sun? Or are the satellites too far away?
Sunspots are magnetic, but the magnetic field is very weak compared to the gravitational forces that hold satellites in orbit. The magnetic field inside a sunspot is about 2,000 Gauss, or about 4,000 times stronger than the Earth’s field (or about 40 times stronger than a refrigerator magnet’s field), but we’re pretty far from the sunspots. Sunspots mainly affect us because they are associated with “Active regions” above them, that can hurl large amounts of ionized (electrified) gas out into space. When the gas happens to hit the Earth (sometimes it’s pointed our way), it can cause electrical effects here that confuse or paralyze satellites. But the satellites still continue orbiting–Sir Isaac Newton takes care of that–even if they aren’t working properly.
