High sunspot activity is celebrated by members of the amateur radio community as a harbinger of excellent ionospheric propagation conditions that greatly increase radio range in the HF bands. This video, captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory between July 5 to 11, 2017, shows a sunspot moving across the Sun. Like freckles on the face of the Sun, sunspots appear to be small features, but size is relative: The dark core of this sunspot is actually larger than Earth.

Understanding the Context

On this page you'll find an overview of all the visible sunspot regions on the Sun together with their properties, images and the chances on solar flares or proton events. Explore a real-time interactive map of the Sun with live sunspots and solar activity. Track changes and view the latest solar data in an easy-to-use interface. Sunspots appear in a wide variety of shapes and forms.

Key Insights

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. If you could cut an average sunspot out of the Sun and place it elsewhere in the night sky, it would be about as bright as the full Moon. Sunspots have a lighter, outer section called the penumbra and a darker, central region named the umbra. Sunspot, vortex of gas on the surface of the Sun associated with strong local magnetic activity.

Final Thoughts

Spots look dark only by contrast with the surrounding photosphere, which is several thousand degrees hotter. A sunspot might only last days on the surface of the Sun, or may be visible for weeks or even months before disappearing. They also appear to move across the face of the Sun, and many astrophotographers love photographing them and tracking their movement.