Often the first spots of a new cycle appear before the last spots of an old cycle have disappeared. Another feature of the photosphere is granulation , an polygonal pattern of light patches with dark boundaries. Granules are almost certainly convection cells , where hot gases rise in the interior of the granule and cooler gases sink along the boundary. Granules are grouped into a larger pattern, called supergranulation . In the chromosphere, other features are visible.
Some prominences are erupted outward, others appear to condense in the corona and fall inward.
Some take the form of loops, clearly driven by magnetic fields. Solar Disturbances and the Earth Solar disturbances of all sorts ebb and flow with the Sunspot cycle, and all are related to disturbances on earth. Prominences and flares in particular emit streams of electrons and protons that reach the earth a day or so after eruption. These particles are trapped in the earth's magnetic field until they build up to a great enough density to break free. Then bursts of these particles strike the magnetic pole regions of the Earth, causing displays of the aurora and generating enormous electric currents in the upper atmosphere that disrupt communications and even damage equipment.