After all, it is the mother of life on Earth. Almost all species on our planet, with the exception of a few fascinating but obscure life forms that reside deep under water or underground, depend on sunlight. The Sun itself is a cauldron of incessant change. The Sun's fickleness has been linked to dynamic shifts in Earth's environmental and biological histories. Indeed, because solar activity can knock out power lines and interfere with communications, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issues daily solar weather reports.
Sunspots are especially fascinating to investigate.
For over two centuries, astronomers have relied on sunspot counts to monitor solar activity. The number of spots oscillates on an 11-year cycle, and more spots usually mean more flares and other activity. The black dots will be easy to see. Several books, such as Peter Taylor and Nancy Hendrickson's recent Beginner's Guide to the Sun, describe the procedures in detail. Students' sunspot numbers can vary quite a bit because of their interpretation and experience, the quality of the image, and the appearance or disappearance of spots in the course of the day.