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Credit & Copyright: Mark Johnston
Explanation:
Why would a small part of the Sun appear slightly dark?
Visible is a close-up picture of
sunspots,
depressions on the Sun's surface that are
slightly cooler and less bright than the rest of the Sun.
The Sun's complex
magnetic field creates these cool regions by inhibiting hot material from entering
the spots.
Sunspots can be larger than the
Earth and typically last for about a week.
Part of active region AR
3297 crossing the
Sun in early May, the large lower sunspot is spanned by an
impressive
light bridge of hot and suspended solar gas.
This high-resolution picture also shows clearly that the
Sun's surface is a bubbling carpet of separate cells of hot gas.
These cells are known as
granules.
A solar granule is about 1000 kilometers across and
lasts for only about 15 minutes.
Your Sky Surprise:
What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: sunspot
Publications with words: sunspot
See also: