Sunspot (active region) • Imaged from Orbit by Hinode • Sunspots appear as dark areas on the otherwise bright Sun’s surface. A sunspot is formed as a result of the internal magnetic field bursting through the visible surface and out into the corona. Sunspots appear dark because the magnetic fields get in the way of energy and heat being transported from inside the Sun to its surface. Because these areas are heated less, they are a few thousands of degrees Kelvin cooler (1,000-2,000K normally), m

• Sunspot/Active Region, Ellerman Bomb• Sunspots appear in a wide variety of shapes and forms. The darkest area of a sunspot (also the first to be observed) is called the umbrae. As the sunspot matures (becomes more intense), a less dark, outlying area of well-defined fibril-like structure develops around the umbrae - called penumbra. Sunspots can grow from an individual unipolar spot into more organized bipolar spot groups; or even evolve into immense, very complex sunspot groups with mixed mag