Sunspots that come from two adjacent cycles can exist simultaneously for a specific period and can be distinguished by the magnetic field that they possess. READ: Why Does the Sun Appear Reddish Early in the Morning?Īt the early stages of the cycle, sunspots appear in the higher latitudes of the sun and then move towards the equator as the cycle reaches the maximum, this is according to Sporer’s law. On the other hand, the solar minimum is the point of a sunspot’s lowest activity. The point of the highest number of sunspot activity in a cycle is known as the solar maximum. In a solar cycle, sunspot populations rise very quickly and fall at a slower rate. Sunspot cycles transpire about every eleven (11) years with some variation in length. In the year 2001, observations from SOHO or the Solar and Hellospheric Observatory using sound waves traveling beneath the photosphere were used to develop 3D images of the internal structure under sunspots these remarks portray a powerful downdraft below each sunspot which forms a rotating vortex that could sustain the concentrated magnetic field. Magnetic pressure tends to remove magnetic field concentrations causing the sunspots to dissipate but the lifetime of these sunspots are usually measured in days to weeks. In each cycle, sunspots change from north to south and from south to north and back. The Zeeman effect, on the other hand, show that prototypical sunspots come in pairs with contrasting magnetic polarity. The Wilson Effect states that sunspots are depressions on the Sun’s surface.
Convection is inhibited at these puncture points the energy flux from the interior parts of the Sun decreases along with its surface temperature. If the stress on these tubes reach a certain point, they curl up and eventually puncture the Sun’s surface. They contract and expand as they move across the Sun’s surface and though the details of sunspot generation is still a debate, it seems that the visible counterparts of magnetic flux tubes in the Sun’s convective zone are amalgamated by differential rotation. Sunspots may last from a few days to a few months but eventually they disappear. It is first to form, first to develop penumbra, and last to dissipate. The leading spot is usually larger in size and has stronger magnetic field strength. In each group there are normally two major spots, oriented approximately east-west, called the leading, preceding or western, and the following or eastern spot. Sunspots have a tendency to appear in magnetically bi-polar groups. Sunspot have two major parts, the umbra which is the darkest part of the sun bearing a vertical magnetic field and the penumbra which is the lighter part bearing an inclined magnetic field. This is because the brightness of this visible light of a heated black body in close approximation by the photosphere at these temperatures varies greatly with temperature – considerably more compared to the total black body radiation emitted by the Sun. Similar phenomena observed on stars and other suns are accompanied by another phenomena called starspots.Īlthough temperatures of sunspots range from 3,000 to 4,500 K, the contrast with the surrounding material which is about 5,800 K leaves these sunspots clearly observable as dark spots. Most coronal mass ejections and solar flares originate in a region that is magnetically active encompassing visible sunspot groupings. Sunspots produce magnetic activity which is quite significant and strong, they are also accompanied by secondary occurrences such as reconnection, prominences and coronal loop events. These sunspots may travel at proper motions or relative speeds starting at a few hundred meters per second upon emerging. Sunspots contract and expand as they move across the Sun’s surface with diameters reaching as much as a hundred and sixty thousand (160,000) kilometers. Groups or individual sunspots may last from a few days to a couple of months but in the end, they eventually decay. One major reason why sunspots appears to be black on the earth surface is that the average temperature of the surface of the Sun is about 10,000☏, and the average temperature in the center of a sunspot is 6400☏. They are also magnetic structures that appear dark on the solar surface.
The numbers of these sunspots vary per year.Ī sunspot is a place on the surface of the Sun that has a cool temperature and an intense magnetic field. Sunspots usually appear in pairs of opposite magnetic polarity. These regions reduce the surface temperature which are caused by concentrations of magnetic field flux and inhibit convection. Sunspots are temporary phenomena that occur on the Sun’s photosphere which appear as spots darker than the areas surrounding it.
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