magnetic north and south poles). The number of sunspots increases and decreases in a regular 11-year cycle.
The solar photosphere appears grainy in this image because of a process called convection, whereby hot bubbles of gas rise to the surface. Through convection heat generated in the solar interior escapes to the surface and into space, ultimately arriving at Earth as visible light and other types of electromagnetic radiation. The SunΓÇÖs heat is created in its core by the same process that generates the explosive power of the hydrogen bombΓÇönamely, the fusion of the lightest element, hydrogen, into the next heavier one, helium.
Although the Sun often seems to be a featureless globe of light, it is
