Mysterious sunspots one step closer to being understood

For astronomers, sunspots have always been shrouded in mystery. These dark splotches that form on the surface of the Sun can be as wide as the diameter of the Earth, but little has been known about them – until now.

Since they are relatively thin ― 150 kilometers wide ― it has been hard to study sunspots in enough detail to reveal clues about their formation. However, scientists recently discovered proof to support their long-standing hypothesis that sunspots are made up of rapid downflows and upflows of gas. The findings were detailed in the June 2nd publication of the journal Science.

These rapid movements of gas create what is known as the penumbra, the lighter border of a sunspot that encircles the darker interior called the umbra.

This movement of hot and cold gas is known as collective flow among scientists, and was a widely-held belief with researchers, even prior to its confirmation as real.

"This is what we have been expecting to find, but we were maybe surprised about actually succeeding in seeing these flows," said Göran Scharmer, a solar physicist at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Stockholm University in Sweden.