Sunspots - Multiverse - Solar Week Message Board

Solar Week - Ask a Question

Come here during Solar Week (next one: March 22-26, 2021) to interact. To post a question, click on your area of interest from the topics below, and then click on the "Ask New Question" button. Or EMAIL or tweet or plant in Answer Garden your question about the Sun or life as a scientist to us -- and watch for it to appear here. You can also visit our FAQs (frequently asked questions). In between Solar Weeks in October and March, you can view all the archives here.

Forums
Search Forum
Advanced SearchTopicsPosts

Prev Go to previous topic

Go to next topic

Last Post 3/8/2006 2:30 PM by Laura Peticolas

Sunspots

2 Replies

Sort:


You are not authorized to post a reply.

Author

Messages

Jim Stryder

Basic Member

Posts:105

3/8/2006 9:11 AM
Alyson, (BK) Why is there no sunspots, or very little?

Dawn Myers

Basic Member

Posts:151

3/8/2006 9:41 AM
Hello Alyson Currently the Sun is in Solar Minimum. Solar minimum is the period during the solar cycle when the number of sunspots is the lowest. The solar cycle is an 11 year cycle. Dawn

Laura Peticolas

New Member

Posts:46

3/8/2006 2:30 PM
Hi Alyson, I thought I might tell you a little more about the solar cycle. This 11 year cycle is due to magnetic fields. The Sun is like a very complicated and ever-changing magnet. And the invisible force around magnets are known as "magnetic fields." These fields can get twisted up and break and become less twisted. Where there are strong magnetic fields, the Sun is cooler and these regions look darker. These are sunspots. Right now, most of the Sun's magnetic fields are not at all twisted up and so there are not regions that are cooler and so there are no sunspots. Laura