Touch the Sun: A NASA Braille Book (2005)
Chapter: 10. Size Comparison of Earth and a Sunspot
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9. Sunspots in Motion Over Time
Figure 10.
Next Chapter: 11. Coronal Mass Ejection
Suggested Citation:
"10. Size Comparison of Earth and a Sunspot." Noreen Grice. 2005. Touch the Sun: A NASA Braille Book. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press.
doi: 10.17226/11219.
Figure 10.
Size Comparison of Earth and a Sunspot
Sunspots may appear as tiny dark “flecks” against the Sun; however, many sunspots are actually larger than the Earth. Sunspots themselves do glow, but they appear darker when compared to the brighter surface of the Sun. If you could hold a sunspot away from the Sun, it would be only a bit dimmer than the Sun.
Suggested Citation:
"10. Size Comparison of Earth and a Sunspot." Noreen Grice. 2005. Touch the Sun: A NASA Braille Book. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press.
doi: 10.17226/11219.
The next illustration compares the size of a typical sunspot to the size of the Earth. The Earth is shown on the lower left portion of the picture as a hollow circle. The irregularly shaped sunspot is shown near the center of the page. The darkest part of the sunspot, outlined with a solid line, is called the umbra and is surrounded by a lighter textured border called the penumbra, shown by a dotted texture.
Credit: NSO/AURA/NSF
Suggested Citation:
"10. Size Comparison of Earth and a Sunspot." Noreen Grice. 2005. Touch the Sun: A NASA Braille Book. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press.
doi: 10.17226/11219.
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