Sunspots: Dark Patches with Fiery Secrets

Sunspots are cooler, darker regions on the Sun’s surface caused by magnetic activity.
They appear dark only in contrast to the Sun’s hotter surroundings.
A single large sunspot can be bigger than Earth.
Sunspots often form in pairs with opposite magnetic polarity.
Their appearance follows the Sun’s 11-year solar activity cycle.
The number of sunspots increases during solar maximum and decreases during solar minimum.
Galileo was one of the first to observe sunspots through a telescope in 1610.
Sunspots can last from a few days to several months before fading.
Regions around sunspots are often the source of solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
Tracking sunspots helps scientists predict solar storms that may affect Earth’s technology.