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A sun spot is a dark spot on the surface of the sun, which appears
because that part of the Sun’s surface is cooler than the surrounding
surface. Sun spots are caused by the differential rotation of
the Sun; different parts of the Sun rotate at different speeds.
As this happens the Sun’s massive magnetic field gets warped.
This magnetic energy gets ‘wound up’ by the rotating parts of
the Sun, and eventually the gravitation energy inside the Sun’s
core prohibits convection in certain parts of the Sun. This causes
the surface area above the regions where convection isn’t taking
place to cool off, and become Sun spots. Because of the gravitational
‘pull’ underneath each Sun spot, the spots appear as depressions
on the Sun’s surface. Sun spots last for about two weeks.
Sun spots appear and disappear with regular patterns over an
11 year cycle, and often appear in groups. They can be used to
show how the Sun is moving, and have noticeable effects on space
weather.
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