Sun spots, dark patches on the surface of the sun caused by variations in the surface temperatures, appear and disappear at intervals. Their numbers increases and then starts decreasing again fairly regularly - in 11 year life cycles. However, they have been largely missing for the past two years. Is there something strange going on? Such a long period of quiet has not been experienced for the last 100 years. Is it a lull before some kind of storm?
Sun spots appear when huge loops of magnesium spring up from the interior of the sun, on to the surface. lowering its temperature wherever they appear. Normally, the temperature on the sun's surface is about 3000 - 4500 K (4940 - 7640 degrees F). Colossal sun storms with energies billions of times greater than the atomic explosion can disrupt life severely n our planet. The solar flares emit huge amount of ultra violet rays that reach our earth playing havoc with the weather patterns ultimately by causing the stratosphere to heat up and cause the increase in wind speeds and strong jet streams.
So what is going on? Are we about to experience a massive number of sun spots before long that will heat up the earth? Or is the sun shrinking and slowly losing its ability to form sun spots? Whatever is the case, it could have profound effects on life on our planet.
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