Sunspot (2000)

This is a large sunspot group, known as "active region 9169". The small black circle in the lower left shows the relative size of the earth--the sunspot is a dozen times bigger.

Sunspots are caused by intense magnetic fields emerging from the interior of the sun. Sunspot appear dark in contrast to the rest of the solar surface, because they are slightly cooler than the surrounding regions.

This image was acquired by NASA's solar-orbiting "Solar and Heliospheric Observatory" (SOHO) spacecraft on 23 September 2000.

Credit: Courtesy of SOHO consortium. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA. [source].

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