Sunspots were first documented by humans around 800 BC when the Chinese noticed dark blemishes on the Sun. The first telescopic observations were carried out in late 1610 by the English astronomer Thomas Harriot. However, it took until 1613 for Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei to demonstrate that sunspots were actually located on the surface of the Sun and not caused by planetary transits. While we now know that sunspots are compact, concentrated magnetic fields that appear dark because the high magnetic field flux inhibits convection, they still remain one of the greater mysteries of astronomy.
The diameter of sunspots can range from a few kilometers to larger than the planet Jupiter (140,00km). The temperature of the sunspot’s umbra , the dark center region, is only about 2,700-4,200°C compared to the 5,500°C solar surface.
This high-resolution imagery of a sunspot was acquired by the Big Bear Solar Observatory in California using their 1.6m solar telescope. This was the first detailed view of the rapidly rotating convective plasma within the umbra. It also depicts the periodic shockwaves generated by sunspots that rocket through the Sun ‘s chromosphere at speeds up to 45,000mph.
Source: https://goo.gl/tjYSzt (BBSO)
Learn More: http://bbso.njit.edu/
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