The Sun, a burning gas globe, has provided life-giving light and warmth to our Earth for five billion years. The Sun's energy originates in its interior, where temperatures exceed 15 million degrees Celsius, and the pressure is 250 billion times greater than that on the Earth's surface. Here the tremendous heat and pressure transform hydrogen, the simplest element in the known universe, into helium. Sunspots are patches created by strong magnetic fields on the surface of the sun. Because these areas are somewhat cool compared to their surroundings, they look dark.
Sunspots are the visual indication of the process that sends charged particles into space.
These particles may be captured by the Earth's magnetic field to create the aurora. Produced and maintained by Spirea.net.