The current sunspot cycle will peak in the middle of 2000. Sunspots are visible from Earth. In the umbra, the Sun's magnetic field is very strong. The penumbra is the outer, relatively light region of a sun spot. A pore is a small sunspot that doesn't have a penumbra .
Granules are regions of the sun where hot solar material comes to the solar surface.
It is almost as though the surface of the Sun is bubbling like a pot of boiling water. Sunspots occur where the sun's magnetic field loops up out of the solar surface and cool it slightly, making that section less bright. As stated in our privacy policy , we fully respect your privacy and will not use your e-mail address for any purpose other than the newsletter subscription.