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The Photosphere 1-10
Sunspot Group AR 9393
The largest sunspot group of the past ten years crosses the surface of the Sun.
2001
Active region 9169
This was the host of the largest sunspot group observed so far during the current solar cycle..
22-09-2000
Active region 9169: close-up
22-09-2000
MDI full disk magnetograms
Animation of MDI magnetograms for one month in 1998.
1998
Magnetic Depressions
These spots appear dark in photographs like the one above, but in fact sunspots are quite bright -
22-04-1998
Spiral Sunspot
This distinctive spiral-shaped sunspot caught the attention of National Solar Observatory astronomers...
19-02-1982
Sunspot structure
At the Sun's surface, sunspots are known to be dark, planet-sized regions of intense magnetic fields.
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The Maunder Minimum
The Sun went through a period of inactivity in the late 17th century.
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Grey Sun Seething
The Sun's surface is not smooth. It has thousands of bumps called granules...
8-01-1997
Solar granules
Granules are small (about 1000 km across) cellular features that cover the entire Sun...
10-07-1997