The interesting thing about the surface of the Sun is Granulation, a mottling effect due to vast bubbles of gas rising and sinking. There are fantastic magnetic forces in the Sun and it is these which are the cause of the spots. The Sun rotates on its axis, but as it is gaseous the equator travels more quickly than the more northerly or southerly regions, and this can be shown by observing sunspot activity. Sunspots travel from east to west, taking about 14 days to span the diameter at the equator, and observation of the movement of the spots allows us to deduce other information. In early June and December the spots travel in straight lines across the disc, indicating that the Earth lies in the plane of the Sun's equator, while from January to May the spots follow a more curved path to the North, indicating that the Sun's south pole is tipped towards us, and from July to November the reverse happens and the spots curve to the South.
Sunspots normally start as pores, then grow, or develop.
They may grow to large complex groups or smaller, singular spots, which after a time get smaller, or decay, becoming a pore again then disappearing altogether. Only by watching a particular group over a time can you observe this. However, looking through the telescope shows the solar surface with a bright centre and less bright to the extreme edges. This is limb Darkening, caused by the fact you are looking at a sphere, with light travelling from the edges having to travel a good deal farther through the solar atmosphere, and this is attenuated somewhat. But this phenomena helps us see another item, Faculae.