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sunspot

Also known as sun spot, sunspots, sun spots

Sunspots are temporary spots on the Sun's surface that are darker than the surrounding area. They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibit convection. Sunspots appear within active regions, usually in pairs of opposite magnetic polarity. Their number varies according to the approximately 11-year solar cycle.

AI overview

Sunspots are temporarily darker areas on the Sun's surface where concentrated magnetic fields prevent normal heat circulation, making those regions cooler than their surroundings. They matter because their numbers follow a predictable roughly 11-year cycle, making them useful for understanding solar activity and its potential effects on Earth.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Image: Sunspots 1302 Sep 2011 by NASA.jpg

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Commons category: Sunspots

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~17 min read

Article

16 sections

Contents

History
Physics
Morphology
Lifecycle
Formation
Decay
Solar cycle
Longer-period trends
Modern observation
Application
Starspot
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Sunspot data

Individual sunspots or groups of sunspots may last anywhere from a few days to a few months, but eventually decay. Sunspots expand and contract as they move across the surface of the Sun, with diameters ranging from to . Larger sunspots can be visible from Earth without the aid of a telescope. They may travel at relative speeds, or proper motions, of a few hundred meters per second when they first emerge.