A Sunspot Is So Large Right Now You Can See It Without A Telescope
It's four times the size of the Earth.
James Felton
JAMES FELTON
Senior Staff Writer
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Published
May 25, 2023
The Sun, with several sunspots crossing it.
Sunspot AR3310, bottom right, should be visible without magnification.
Image credit: NASA Solar Observatory
A sunspot four times the size of the Earth is making its way across the Sun at the moment. The spot is so large you can see it without a telescope, though of course you should use protective equipment.
Sunspot AR3310 should be visible to you using solar viewing glasses, those cool disposable shades you foolhardily threw away after the last eclipse. Sunspots are areas of the Sun that appear darker due to a slightly lower temperature.
"Sunspots are areas where the magnetic field is about 2,500 times stronger than Earth's, much higher than anywhere else on the Sun," the National Weather Service explains. "Because of the strong magnetic field, the magnetic pressure increases while the surrounding atmospheric pressure decreases. This in turn lowers the temperature relative to its surroundings because the concentrated magnetic field inhibits the flow of hot, new gas from the Sun's interior to the surface. "
Sun activity increases and decreases in a 11-year cycle known as the Schwabe cycle. From 1826 to 1843, German amateur astronomer Heinrich Schwabe observed the Sun, discovering that it rotates on its axis once every 27 days. He noticed the Sun goes from quiet periods, where no sunspots can be seen, to the maximum phase where 20 or more groups of sunspots can be seen.
https://www.iflscience.com/a-sunspot-is-so-large-right-now-you-can-see-it-without-a-telescope-69096
