... Active Region 1002 on an Unusually Quiet Sun . ... Credit Copyright: SOHO Consortium , EIT , ESA , NASA Explanation: Why has the Sun been so quiet recently? ... Our Sun has shown few active regions -- that house even fewer associated sunspots -- for over a year now, and such a period of relative calm is quite unusual. ... A few days ago, however, a bona-fide active region -- complete with sunspots --appeared and continues to rotate across the Sun's face. ... A Filament Across the Sun . ...