The
Sun's surface is not smooth. It has thousands of bumps called granules and
usually a few dark depressions called sunspots. Each of the numerous granules
is the size of an Earth continent, but much shorter lived. A granule can
only be expected to last a few minutes before dissipating and being replaced
by a newly rising granule. In this way a granule acts much like a rising
bubble in boiling water. |
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The
above black and white, visible-light picture is quite unusual because the
usual relative darkening visible near the edges of the Solar disk have been
digitally removed. Visible near the center are two large sunspots while
the computer enhancement brings out two bright plages close to the right
solar limb. |
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