Magnetic Hotspots
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- Visualizations by:
- Scott Wiessinger
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- Written by:
- Karen Fox
- View full credits
Sunspots are the relatively cool, dark blemishes that appear on the sun's otherwise super-fiery and flawless surface. To scientists, these planet-sized phenomena indicate the location where strong magnetic fields that power solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) emerge from the sun's interior. The number of sunspots increases and decreases over time in a regular, approximately 11-year cycle, called the sunspot cycle. During each cycle sunspots migrate from the sun's mid-latitude regions towards the equator, with the highest number observed in any given cycle designated "solar maximum" and the lowest number designated "solar minimum." Each cycle varies dramatically in number, with some solar maxima being so low as to be almost indistinguishable from the preceding minimum. Learn more about the sunspot cycle and see actual footage of sunspots in the videos below.
For More Information
See NASA.gov
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Animators
- Scott Wiessinger (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) [Lead]
- Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
- Walt Feimer (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Writer
- Karen Fox (ADNET Systems, Inc.) [Lead]
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Video editor
- Scott Wiessinger (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Producer
- Scott Wiessinger (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Narrator
- Karen Fox (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
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Videographer
- Rob Andreoli (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.)