Figure 16-19: R I V U X G
The Sunspot Cycle (a) The number of sunspots on the Sun varies with a period of about 11 years. The most recent sunspot maximum occurred in 2000. (b) This photograph, taken near sunspot maximum in 1989, shows a number of sunspots and large sunspot groups. The sunspot group visible near the bottom of the Sun’s disk has about the same diameter as the planet Jupiter. (c) Near sunspot minimum, as in this 1986 photograph, essentially no sunspots are visible.
The Sunspot Cycle (a) The number of sunspots on the Sun varies with a period of about 11 years. The most recent sunspot maximum occurred in 2000. (b) This photograph, taken near sunspot maximum in 1989, shows a number of sunspots and large sunspot groups. The sunspot group visible near the bottom of the Sun’s disk has about the same diameter as the planet Jupiter. (c) Near sunspot minimum, as in this 1986 photograph, essentially no sunspots are visible.
(NOAO)