12/12/2023 0 Comments Build your own sun spotterThis period of severely reduced solar activity came to be known as the "Maunder minimum," after British astronomer Edward Walter Maunder, who - along with his wife, Annie - discovered the lack of activity from the records in 1890, according to The Times (opens in new tab). For comparison, during a "normal" solar minimum there are usually 12 to more than 100 sunspots per year. Between 16, fewer than 50 sunspots were recorded, according to Physics World (opens in new tab). Though the 11-year solar cycle is fairly consistent, between 16, very few sunspots were observed. (Image credit: Future) (opens in new tab) Sunspots and the solar cycleĭuring solar maximum a large number of sunspots are visible at mid-latitudes and during solar minimum a very small number (sometimes zero) of sunspots are visible at the equator. According to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (opens in new tab) (UCAR), if you could cut out a standard sunspot from the sun and place it in the night sky, it would appear as bright as a full moon. The strong magnetic field inhibits the influx of hot, new gas from the sun's interior, causing sunspots to be cooler and appear darker than their surroundings, relatively speaking. The magnetic field in active sunspot regions can be some 2,500 times stronger than Earth's, according to the NWS. A group of sunspots is known as an active region. This disturbance in the sun's magnetic field forms pores that can grow and join together to form larger pores, or proto-spots, that eventually become sunspots. Eventually, the magnetic fields "snap," rise and break the surface. Sunspots are, on average, about the same size as Earth, though they can vary from hundreds to tens of thousands of miles across, according to Cool Cosmos (opens in new tab).Īs the sun rotates, these magnetic loop "rubber bands" get more wound up (both tighter and more complicated).
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