Sunspots reach the size of entire planets, for astronomers they are an opportunity to study the magnetic interior of a star and monitor its activity.
Sunspots are our window into the complex magnetic interior of the Sun, and they have fascinated observers of this star for hundreds of years. And the frequency and intensity of sunspots visible on the surface indicate the level of solar activity during the 11-year solar cycle.
We also wrote that the Lonestar startup plans to bury all earthly secrets on the moon. According to the European Solar Telescope, sunspots form when a concentration of magnetic field from deep within the Sun rises to the surface. They consist of a central darker area known as the shadow and a surrounding area known as the penumbra.
While scientists don’t fully understand how sunspots form, researchers generally accept the theory first proposed by American astronomer Horace Babcock in 1961. That sunspots are formed by the solar magnetic field.