What are sunspots?
The sun has a magnetic field that is twisted around inside the Sun as it spins. There are places on the sun where this magnetic field rises up from below the sun’s surface and pokes through, creating sunspots. Sunspots are magnetic and often have a north and south pole like a magnet. They come and go over the surface of the Sun and last from a few days to a few weeks. The period of time between maximum outbreaks of sunspots is about 9 to 14 years, with an average of 11 years.
Sunspots are areas that appear dark on the surface of the sun; they’re actually cooler than surrounding areas. Instead of a temperature of approximately 10,000 degrees Centigrade, sunspots are typically 7,000 degrees. However, sunspots actually signal more activity on the sun, and an overall increase in the brightness of the sun.
A sunspot is basically a magnetic storm on the surface of the Sun. The Sun generates heat and light through nuclear fusion, deep within in its core. That nuclear fusion also generates strong magnetic fields. Hot gases inside the Sun swirl around, much like boiling water in a saucepan, and bend the magnetic fields. Every now and then, several magnetic fields intersect at one point on the Sun’s surface, and get “knotted up” with each other. At that point on the Sun’s surface, the upwelling of hot gas from below is constricted, and that spot cools down. Even though that location is still very hot, it is cooler than its surroundings, and so it looks like a dark spot when viewed through solar telescopes. Sunspots follow an 11-year cycle, with many visible during the peak of the cycle and few if any visible when the cycle is at its ebb. This cycle is caused by the way in which the magnetic fields inside the Sun turn and twist. Never try to view the Sun without the proper equipment, or you co
Sunspots are areas on the sun’s photosphere, or surface, which appear darker than the rest of the sun. The photosphere of the sun, or any gaseous celestial body, is the layer of gases which makes up the visible surface. On the sun, the photosphere is extremely deep, stretching for hundreds of miles. Beneath the photosphere lies the solar core, the powerhouse of the sun, which produces energy and heat. Primarily this is accomplished by converting hydrogen into helium in a form of nuclear reaction. Sunspots stand out strongly against the bright surface of the sun, and have been observed for thousands of years. In the 1600s, sunspots were more closely documented and generally accepted. Numerous writings and drawings from previous periods show that observers saw areas of apparent darkness on the surface of the sun. Sunspots appear dark because they are cooler than the rest of the surface of the sun, but they are actually extremely bright. They are irregularly shaped, and tend to appear in
