Hi Richard,Sunspots are actually created because of the Sun's magnetic field. The Earth has two magnetic poles (north and south), but the Sun has many magnetic poles. Sunspots form in pairs, with one spot being the "north" magnetic pole and the other being the "south" magnetic pole. Because different parts of the Sun rotate at different speeds, the Sun's magnetic field lines get twisted. Eventually the Sun's magentic field will snap and reset. This cycle takes approximately 11 years. You can check out the Sun's magnetic field in various wavelengths of light at http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/spaceweather/#. -Nancy Ali

Hi Richard, Sunspots are usually formed between about 50 degrees south and north of the solar equator. So you are right that Sunspots are rarely formed near the solar poles. The formation of sunspots is not fully understood. It is believe that sunspots are the appearance of emerged magnetic flux rope. The magnetic flux ropes have strong twisted magnetic field that is created by the differential rotation of the solar plasma inside the Sun. Yan