Up Facts & Stats Sunspots 

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    The Sun has spots on it called sunspots.  A sunspot is a very large and violent storm with rain, thunder, and lightning.  Most sunspots begin and fade in an 11-year cycle.  Sunspots are cooler spots on the Sun.  Sunspots always form in pairs.  The reason for this is because sunspots are magnetic.  One sunspot always has the north pull, and the other always has the south pull.  Some sunspots last only a day, while others last as long as one month.    

   Sunspots have always confused astronomers.   Some thought they were clouds, others thought they were mountains, and some thought they were a window to coolness.   Astronomers today still do not understand everything about them.  

   The coolest sunspot will only get down to 8,000° Fahrenheit, but that’s 2,000° cooler than what it normally is.  An active Sun will produce more sunspots than a quiet one will, because there is more activity going on inside of it, which is what causes the sunspots.  The average-sized ones are about twice the size of Earth.