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Sunspot: Quick Facts

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Photos and Videos

sunspot group
Engraving from Galileo Galilei's 1613 work showing a circular diagram of the sun with labeled sunspots scattered across its surface.
Sunspot
active region of the Sun
photosphere of the Sun
Line graph showing average yearly sunspot numbers from 1600 to 2000, with notable low-activity periods highlighted as the Maunder minimum (mid-1600s to early 1700s) and Dalton minimum (late 1700s to early 1800s). The graph illustrates cycles of rising and falling sunspot counts over time.
sunspot drawings
Diagram of sunspot observations made by Johannes Hevelius, 1647.
Study the zoomed-in view of a large sunspot group taken by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, March 29, 2010
Observe a close-up of a rotating sunspot
Study the magnetic fields in a sunspot pair as observed by the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager, March 29, 2010
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Key People

Galileo
Galileo
Italian natural philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician
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George Ellery Hale
American astronomer
Maria Mitchell
Maria Mitchell
American astronomer
Lockyer
Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer
British astronomer
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Richard Christopher Carrington
British astronomer
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Seth Barnes Nicholson
American astronomer
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Johannes Fabricius
Dutch astronomer

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