Table of Contents
Where are sunspots located on the Sun?
photosphere
Sunspots are darker, cooler areas on the surface of the sun in a region called the photosphere. The photosphere has a temperature of 5,800 degrees Kelvin.
What is a sun spot on the Sun?
Sunspots: One interesting aspect of the Sun is its sunspots. Sunspots are areas where the magnetic field is about 2,500 times stronger than Earth’s, much higher than anywhere else on the Sun. Because of the strong magnetic field, the magnetic pressure increases while the surrounding atmospheric pressure decreases.
Do sun spots move?
As the sunspots are a result of magnetic processes in the Sun, they move in the direction of its magnetic field lines. As shown in Figure 9 the Sun’s magnetic field lines are extended parallel to the Page 14 equator and become twisted. Therefore, sunspots move mainly parallel to the equator.
What do sunspots look like on the Sun?
What do they look like? Sunspots appear as flat, darker patches of skin (tan to dark brown) that are found on areas of the body that have experienced high levels of sun exposure such as the face, shoulders, hands, chest, and the backs of hands.
Where are most sunspots located?
Surprisingly, almost all sunspots are found in two bands on the Sun, just north and south of the equator. At the start of the cycle, the sunspots appear at latitudes of about 30 degrees, both north and south of the equator.
What layer do sunspots occur?
The photosphere is marked by bright, bubbling granules of plasma and darker, cooler sunspots, which emerge when the sun’s magnetic field breaks through the surface. Sunspots appear to move across the sun’s disk.
Are sunspots hot or cold?
Sunspots are areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun. They appear dark because they are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface. The temperature of a sunspot is still very hot though—around 6,500 degrees Fahrenheit!
How many sunspots are on the Sun?
At Solar Maximum, there will be up to 200 sunspots on the Sun at one time.
Do sunspots itch?
These dark spots on the skin are not painful, itchy or harmful, but if you have a lot of sunspots, it’s an indication that you’ve had a lot of sun exposure throughout your lifetime.
How hot is a sunspot?
Sunspots are “dark” because they are cooler than their surroundings. A large sunspot might have a central temperature of 4,000 K (about 3,700° C or 6,700° F), much lower than the 5,800 K (about 5,500° C or 10,000° F) temperature of the adjacent photosphere.
How do sunspots happen?
Sunspots are caused by disturbances in the Sun’s magnetic field welling up to the photosphere, the Sun’s visible “surface”. The powerful magnetic fields in the vicinity of sunspots produce active regions on the Sun, which in turn frequently spawn disturbances such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
Are there sunspots in the middle of the Sun?
The largest sunspot group in 24 years appeared on the sun in October 2014. The sunspots sit below the bright active region in the middle of the sun here. (Image credit: NASA/SDO/LMSAL) Paul Sutter is an astrophysicist at The Ohio State University and the chief scientist at COSI science center.
Why do you get sunspots on your skin?
They’re caused by years of sun exposure, which triggers pigment-producing cells called melanocytes in your skin to produce more pigment in a small concentrated area. This excess pigment is triggered in response to injury (sun damage), sort of the way scar tissue forms after a cut or puncture wound.
When did the largest sunspots appear on the Sun?
The largest sunspot group in 24 years appeared on the sun in October 2014. The sunspots sit below the bright active region in the middle of the sun here.
Why does the sunspot project through the photosphere?
If the stress on the tubes reaches a certain limit, a loop of the tube may project through the photosphere, the Sun’s visible surface.