An increase in surface activity is expected because our Sun is approaching solar maximum in 2025. However, last month our Sun sprouted more sunspots than in any month during the entire previous 11-year solar cycle -- and even dating back to 2002. The featured picture is a composite of images taken every day from January to June by NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory. Showing a high abundance of sunspots, large individual spots can be tracked across the Sun's disk, left to right, over about two weeks. As a solar cycle continues, sunspots typically appear closer to the equator. Sunspots are just one way that our Sun displays surface activity -- another is flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that expel particles out into the Solar System. Since these particles can affect astronauts and electronics, tracking surface disturbances is of more than aesthetic value. Conversely, solar activity can have very high aesthetic value -- in the Earth's atmosphere when they trigger aurora.
What exactly is a sunspot? I always assumed same thing as cme without ever looking into it. Sounds like there is a difference?
Love the picture btw!
It's just an are that is cooler than the surrounding plasma. Formed through changes in the magnetic field. Here's a cool article.
and fun fact, apparently they only look that dark in relation to the rest of the sun; they'd be a glowing orange-ish color if isolated
Oh yeah definitely still glowing hot at over 6,000F.