Sunspots
The electric currents in the Sun, as well as in planets and galaxies, generate magnetic fields. Sunspots, temporary disturbances in the Sun's photosphere, are the most visible advertisement of the solar magnetic field. They appear dark because temperatures are considerably lower than in surrounding areas. Sunspots occur where the magnetic field lines emerge from the inside of the Sun to form expanding loops above its surface.Sunspots usually show up as small forms that are irregularly shaped, and grow within days or weeks to their full size. While they can last weeks or months, they do eventually disappear, often by breaking into smaller and smaller sunspots.
This image is courtesy of the National Solar Observatory.
Sunspots in the News:
March 19, 2012: Sunspot Group 1429 and
the distant sun -- ACE News
March 14, 2012: Angry sun erupting -- APOD
March 13, 2012: Big sunspot remains active -- NASA
February 13, 2012: Sunspots' secrets unraveling -- Sky & Telescope
November 12, 2011: Sunspot castle -- APOD
September 28, 2011: Violent sunspot group AR 1302 unleashes a flare -- APOD
September 18, 2011: A sharp view of the sun -- APOD
August 24, 2011: Sunspot breakthrough -- NASA
June 2, 2011: Pinpointing the nature of filaments in sunspots -- AAAS
April 20, 2011: Five sunspots caused February's solar flare -- Physics Today
April 18, 2011: Slow start to solar cycle -- Astrobiology
April 10, 2011: Sunspot loops in ultraviolet -- APOD
March 9, 2011: Celebrating 400 years of sunspot observations -- NASA
March 2, 2011: Researchers crack the mystery of the spotless sun -- NASA
November 8, 2010: Sunspot 1121 unleashes X-ray flare -- NASA
August 30, 2010: New sunspot pictures: Sharpest view yet in visible light -- National Geographic
April 14, 2010: Ebbing sunspot activity makes Europe freeze -- Nature
April 14, 2010: Sun blamed for Europe's colder winters -- Physics World
September 8, 2009: Are sunspots disappearing? -- Astrobiology
September 3, 2009: Are sunspots disappearing? -- Science@NASA
September 2, 2009: Mount Wilson Observatory: View from the mountaintop -- Astronomy.com
August 27, 2009: Sunspots stir oceans -- Nature
June 25, 2009: Beware the phantom exoplanets -- Discovery Channel
June 18, 2009: Sunspots revealed in striking detail by supercomputers -- UCAR
June 4, 2009: Sunspots on a cloudy day -- APOD
May 25, 2009: How did the brown dwarf get its spots? -- Sky & Telescope
April 9, 2009: Orange Sun oozing -- APOD
September 30, 2008: Spotless Sun: Blankest year of the space age -- Science@NASA
September 29, 2008: Hidden boundaries of sunspots pump out plasma into interplanetary space -- NASA
August 21, 2008: Sunspot pair observed today -- Universe Today
July 30, 2008: The International Space Station transits the sun -- APOD
June 9, 2008: Sun goes longer than normal without producing sunspots -- Science Daily
February 6, 2008: A sunspot in the new solar cycle -- APOD
January 14, 2008: SOHO: The new solar cycle starts with a 'bang' -- ESA
January 7, 2008: 'Maverick' sunspot heralds new solar cycle -- New Scientist
September 18, 2007: Magnetic trilobite -- Science@NASA
August 31, 2007: Celebrating 10 years of ACE in space -- ACE News
August 6, 2007: Sunspot abundance linked to heavy rains in East Africa -- AGU
December 18, 2006: Solar opposites: forecasts for Sun's activity disagree wildly -- Space.com Space News
September 14, 2006: Study clears Sun of climate change -- Australian Broadcasting Corporation
September 13, 2006: Changes in solar brightness too weak to explain global warming -- National Center for Atmospheric Research
August 30, 2006: A backward sunspot and the new solar cycle -- NASA GSFC APOD
August 15, 2006: Backward sunspot -- Science@NASA
June 11, 2006: Sunspot loops in ultraviolet -- NASA GSFC APOD
May 10, 2006: Long range solar forecast -- Science@NASA
May 2, 2006: Sunspot 875 flares -- NASA GSFC APOD
March 6, 2006: Solar minimum has arrived -- Science@NASA
November 6, 2005: A sunspot up close -- NASA GSFC APOD
September 13, 2005: Aurorae on the way? -- Astronomy.com
June 10, 2005: A new kind of solar storm -- Science@NASA
May 27, 2005: Solar fireworks signal new space weather mystery -- Spaceflight Now
February 16, 2005: Sunspot metamorphosis: from bottom to top -- NASA GSFC APOD
February 4, 2005: Sunspot cycles: deciphering the butterfly pattern -- National Geographic
January 21, 2005: Sunspot cluster ejects huge radiation storm -- New Scientist
January 20, 2005: Rare spate of solar storms bombards spacecraft -- Space.com
November 4, 2004: Sunspot activity impacts on crop success -- New Scientist
October 29, 2004: Sunspots leave telltale marks in trees -- Australian Broadcasting Company
October 27, 2004: Tree rings reveal sunspot record -- Discovery Channel News
October 18, 2004: Solar cycle update -- Science@NASA
October 10, 2004: Sunspot loops in ultraviolet -- NASA GSFC APOD
July 26, 2004: A large active region crosses the Sun -- NASA GSFC APOD
July 23, 2004: Sunspot grows to 20 times size of Earth -- Space.com
July 22, 2004: NASA goes to the "SORCE" of Earth Sun-blockers -- NASA GSFC
July 6, 2004: Sunspots reaching 1,000-year high -- BBC News
June 1, 2004: 17th century solar oddity believed linked to global cooling is rare among nearby stars -- EurekAlert!
May 31, 2004: New instrument makes highest-resolution magnetic measurements inside a sunspot -- National Solar Observatory
May 31, 2004: Breakthrough research to improve forecasts of sunspot cycle -- National Center for Atomospheric Research
October 27, 2003: Large sunspot groups 10484 and 10486 -- NASA GSFC APOD
October 27, 2003: Angry sunspots continue to rumble -- BBC News
October 25, 2003: Islands in the photosphere -- NASA GSFC APOD
October 24, 2003: Earth put on solar storm alert -- BBC News
October 24, 2003: Cloud of solar gas strikes our planet -- CNN
October 23, 2003: SOHO spots Jupiter-sized sunspot & Earth-directed flares -- NASA GSFC
July 4, 2003: Debating the Sun's effect on climate -- BBC News
June 25, 2003: Powerful 'conveyor belts' drive Sun's 11-year cycle -- Spaceflight Now
June 24, 2003: The Sun's surface in 3D -- NASA GSFC APOD
February 14, 2003: Weather cells found to form around magnetic storms on solar surface -- University of Colorado at Boulder
November 18, 2002: Best Sun pictures ever show new solar features -- CNN
November 15, 2002: Sunspots come into focus -- PhysicsWeb
November 15, 2002: Sunspot structure seen for the first time -- Space News
November 14, 2002: The sharpest view of the Sun -- NASA GSFC APOD
November 13, 2002: New photos of Sun are most detailed ever -- SPACE.com
November 13, 2002: Super sunspot images -- Sky & Telescope
November 13, 2002: Close up on sunspots -- BBC News
August 1, 2002: Sunspots and solar active regions -- NASA GSFC APOD
July 18, 2002: Sunspot region 30 -- NASA GSFC APOD
July 15, 2002: Naked-eye sunspot -- Sky & Telescope
May 8, 2002: Sunspot loops in ultraviolet -- NASA GSFC APOD
December 11, 2001: A new twist for stellar magnetism -- PhysicsWeb
December 10, 2001: Fantastic voyage inside the Sun reveals hidden world of surprising complexity -- NASA GSFC
November 8, 2001: Under a sunspot -- NASA GSFC APOD
November 7, 2001: First glimpse inside a sunspot -- BBC News
November 6, 2001: The Sun's dark secret: How sunspots pull themselves together -- NASA GSFC
July 17, 2001: Medieval sunspot image linked to 1182 Korean aurora -- UniSci
May 3, 2001: Far side of the Sun -- NASA GSFC APOD
April 27, 2001: The transparent Sun -- Science@NASA
April 19, 2001: Sunspot stack -- NASA GSFC APOD
April 11, 2001: Large sunspot group AR 9393 -- NASA GSFC APOD
April 7, 2001: Stereo Sun -- NASA GSFC APOD
March 29, 2001: Aurora Alaskan style -- NASA GSFC APOD
March 15, 2001: Islands in the photosphere -- NASA GSFC APOD
September 26, 2000: Sun probe sees largest sunspot group in a decade -- Spaceflight Now
September 25, 2000: AR 9169: A large sunspot -- NASA GSFC APOD
September 21, 2000: Largest sunspot group in nine years visible -- Space.com
July 12, 2000: A giant starspot on HD 12545 -- NASA GSFC APOD
June 24, 2000: Sunspots -- Guardian Unlimited
June 22, 2000: 100-year-old "butterfly diagram" shows sunspot travel -- NCAR
May 22, 2000: Light bridges on the Sun -- NASA GSFC APOD
April 5, 2000: Sunspot numerology -- NASA MSFC
March 10, 2000: SOHO sees through the Sun, finds storms on other side -- Spacelflight Now
March 3, 2000: The Sun's show hots up -- BBC News
February 23, 2000: Sunspot seething -- NASA GSFC APOD
February 7, 2000: Major flare erupts on Sun -- BBC
October 21, 1999: Follow the spots -- NASA GSFC APOD
February 4, 1999: Spiral sunspot - NASA GSFC APOD
March 14, 2012: Angry sun erupting -- APOD
March 13, 2012: Big sunspot remains active -- NASA
February 13, 2012: Sunspots' secrets unraveling -- Sky & Telescope
November 12, 2011: Sunspot castle -- APOD
September 28, 2011: Violent sunspot group AR 1302 unleashes a flare -- APOD
September 18, 2011: A sharp view of the sun -- APOD
August 24, 2011: Sunspot breakthrough -- NASA
June 2, 2011: Pinpointing the nature of filaments in sunspots -- AAAS
April 20, 2011: Five sunspots caused February's solar flare -- Physics Today
April 18, 2011: Slow start to solar cycle -- Astrobiology
April 10, 2011: Sunspot loops in ultraviolet -- APOD
March 9, 2011: Celebrating 400 years of sunspot observations -- NASA
March 2, 2011: Researchers crack the mystery of the spotless sun -- NASA
November 8, 2010: Sunspot 1121 unleashes X-ray flare -- NASA
August 30, 2010: New sunspot pictures: Sharpest view yet in visible light -- National Geographic
April 14, 2010: Ebbing sunspot activity makes Europe freeze -- Nature
April 14, 2010: Sun blamed for Europe's colder winters -- Physics World
September 8, 2009: Are sunspots disappearing? -- Astrobiology
September 3, 2009: Are sunspots disappearing? -- Science@NASA
September 2, 2009: Mount Wilson Observatory: View from the mountaintop -- Astronomy.com
August 27, 2009: Sunspots stir oceans -- Nature
June 25, 2009: Beware the phantom exoplanets -- Discovery Channel
June 18, 2009: Sunspots revealed in striking detail by supercomputers -- UCAR
June 4, 2009: Sunspots on a cloudy day -- APOD
May 25, 2009: How did the brown dwarf get its spots? -- Sky & Telescope
April 9, 2009: Orange Sun oozing -- APOD
September 30, 2008: Spotless Sun: Blankest year of the space age -- Science@NASA
September 29, 2008: Hidden boundaries of sunspots pump out plasma into interplanetary space -- NASA
August 21, 2008: Sunspot pair observed today -- Universe Today
July 30, 2008: The International Space Station transits the sun -- APOD
June 9, 2008: Sun goes longer than normal without producing sunspots -- Science Daily
February 6, 2008: A sunspot in the new solar cycle -- APOD
January 14, 2008: SOHO: The new solar cycle starts with a 'bang' -- ESA
January 7, 2008: 'Maverick' sunspot heralds new solar cycle -- New Scientist
September 18, 2007: Magnetic trilobite -- Science@NASA
August 31, 2007: Celebrating 10 years of ACE in space -- ACE News
August 6, 2007: Sunspot abundance linked to heavy rains in East Africa -- AGU
December 18, 2006: Solar opposites: forecasts for Sun's activity disagree wildly -- Space.com Space News
September 14, 2006: Study clears Sun of climate change -- Australian Broadcasting Corporation
September 13, 2006: Changes in solar brightness too weak to explain global warming -- National Center for Atmospheric Research
August 30, 2006: A backward sunspot and the new solar cycle -- NASA GSFC APOD
August 15, 2006: Backward sunspot -- Science@NASA
June 11, 2006: Sunspot loops in ultraviolet -- NASA GSFC APOD
May 10, 2006: Long range solar forecast -- Science@NASA
May 2, 2006: Sunspot 875 flares -- NASA GSFC APOD
March 6, 2006: Solar minimum has arrived -- Science@NASA
November 6, 2005: A sunspot up close -- NASA GSFC APOD
September 13, 2005: Aurorae on the way? -- Astronomy.com
June 10, 2005: A new kind of solar storm -- Science@NASA
May 27, 2005: Solar fireworks signal new space weather mystery -- Spaceflight Now
February 16, 2005: Sunspot metamorphosis: from bottom to top -- NASA GSFC APOD
February 4, 2005: Sunspot cycles: deciphering the butterfly pattern -- National Geographic
January 21, 2005: Sunspot cluster ejects huge radiation storm -- New Scientist
January 20, 2005: Rare spate of solar storms bombards spacecraft -- Space.com
November 4, 2004: Sunspot activity impacts on crop success -- New Scientist
October 29, 2004: Sunspots leave telltale marks in trees -- Australian Broadcasting Company
October 27, 2004: Tree rings reveal sunspot record -- Discovery Channel News
October 18, 2004: Solar cycle update -- Science@NASA
October 10, 2004: Sunspot loops in ultraviolet -- NASA GSFC APOD
July 26, 2004: A large active region crosses the Sun -- NASA GSFC APOD
July 23, 2004: Sunspot grows to 20 times size of Earth -- Space.com
July 22, 2004: NASA goes to the "SORCE" of Earth Sun-blockers -- NASA GSFC
July 6, 2004: Sunspots reaching 1,000-year high -- BBC News
June 1, 2004: 17th century solar oddity believed linked to global cooling is rare among nearby stars -- EurekAlert!
May 31, 2004: New instrument makes highest-resolution magnetic measurements inside a sunspot -- National Solar Observatory
May 31, 2004: Breakthrough research to improve forecasts of sunspot cycle -- National Center for Atomospheric Research
October 27, 2003: Large sunspot groups 10484 and 10486 -- NASA GSFC APOD
October 27, 2003: Angry sunspots continue to rumble -- BBC News
October 25, 2003: Islands in the photosphere -- NASA GSFC APOD
October 24, 2003: Earth put on solar storm alert -- BBC News
October 24, 2003: Cloud of solar gas strikes our planet -- CNN
October 23, 2003: SOHO spots Jupiter-sized sunspot & Earth-directed flares -- NASA GSFC
July 4, 2003: Debating the Sun's effect on climate -- BBC News
June 25, 2003: Powerful 'conveyor belts' drive Sun's 11-year cycle -- Spaceflight Now
June 24, 2003: The Sun's surface in 3D -- NASA GSFC APOD
February 14, 2003: Weather cells found to form around magnetic storms on solar surface -- University of Colorado at Boulder
November 18, 2002: Best Sun pictures ever show new solar features -- CNN
November 15, 2002: Sunspots come into focus -- PhysicsWeb
November 15, 2002: Sunspot structure seen for the first time -- Space News
November 14, 2002: The sharpest view of the Sun -- NASA GSFC APOD
November 13, 2002: New photos of Sun are most detailed ever -- SPACE.com
November 13, 2002: Super sunspot images -- Sky & Telescope
November 13, 2002: Close up on sunspots -- BBC News
August 1, 2002: Sunspots and solar active regions -- NASA GSFC APOD
July 18, 2002: Sunspot region 30 -- NASA GSFC APOD
July 15, 2002: Naked-eye sunspot -- Sky & Telescope
May 8, 2002: Sunspot loops in ultraviolet -- NASA GSFC APOD
December 11, 2001: A new twist for stellar magnetism -- PhysicsWeb
December 10, 2001: Fantastic voyage inside the Sun reveals hidden world of surprising complexity -- NASA GSFC
November 8, 2001: Under a sunspot -- NASA GSFC APOD
November 7, 2001: First glimpse inside a sunspot -- BBC News
November 6, 2001: The Sun's dark secret: How sunspots pull themselves together -- NASA GSFC
July 17, 2001: Medieval sunspot image linked to 1182 Korean aurora -- UniSci
May 3, 2001: Far side of the Sun -- NASA GSFC APOD
April 27, 2001: The transparent Sun -- Science@NASA
April 19, 2001: Sunspot stack -- NASA GSFC APOD
April 11, 2001: Large sunspot group AR 9393 -- NASA GSFC APOD
April 7, 2001: Stereo Sun -- NASA GSFC APOD
March 29, 2001: Aurora Alaskan style -- NASA GSFC APOD
March 15, 2001: Islands in the photosphere -- NASA GSFC APOD
September 26, 2000: Sun probe sees largest sunspot group in a decade -- Spaceflight Now
September 25, 2000: AR 9169: A large sunspot -- NASA GSFC APOD
September 21, 2000: Largest sunspot group in nine years visible -- Space.com
July 12, 2000: A giant starspot on HD 12545 -- NASA GSFC APOD
June 24, 2000: Sunspots -- Guardian Unlimited
June 22, 2000: 100-year-old "butterfly diagram" shows sunspot travel -- NCAR
May 22, 2000: Light bridges on the Sun -- NASA GSFC APOD
April 5, 2000: Sunspot numerology -- NASA MSFC
March 10, 2000: SOHO sees through the Sun, finds storms on other side -- Spacelflight Now
March 3, 2000: The Sun's show hots up -- BBC News
February 23, 2000: Sunspot seething -- NASA GSFC APOD
February 7, 2000: Major flare erupts on Sun -- BBC
October 21, 1999: Follow the spots -- NASA GSFC APOD
February 4, 1999: Spiral sunspot - NASA GSFC APOD
Click on images above to
learn more about them
A service of the Heliophysics
Science Division at NASA's GSFC
Questions and comments to: cosmicopia@cosmicra.gsfc.nasa.gov
Curator: Dr Eric R. Christian, NASA
Responsible NASA Official: Dr Eric R. Christian
Privacy Policy and Important Notices
Questions and comments to: cosmicopia@cosmicra.gsfc.nasa.gov
Curator: Dr Eric R. Christian, NASA
Responsible NASA Official: Dr Eric R. Christian
Privacy Policy and Important Notices
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