Sunspots
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Sunspot with the Earth shown to scale
Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope
A sunspot is a dark patch on the Sun. It is associated with a strong magnetic field. The central part of the sunspot is the dark umbra. It is surrounded by the penumbra, which has a filamentary structure similar to the petals of a flower. Sunspots are darker than their surroundings because the magnetic field inhibits the convective motions under the surface that transports heat. But they are not completely dark and cold. It may sound strange, but one of many sunspot mysteries is why they are so bright! After all, the penumbra shines with about 75% of the ordinary solar output.
This image displays the main sunspot of active region 11072 with the Earth shown to scale. The solar image was acquired with the CRISP instrument at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (La Palma, Spain) in violet light and colourised for aesthetic reasons.
Image credit: Vasco Henriques, Dan Kiselman (ISP/Stockholm)
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