Other Sun Stuff

OTHER SUN STUFF The Solar Wind The solar wind is nothing more than a stream of charged particles flowing outward from the Sun with an average velocity of about 400 km/sec. It is a natural consequence of the Sun being so hot - the corona gas has too much energy to be gravitationally bound to the Sun. Sunspots and Their Cycle Sunspots are cooler regions on the Sun's photosphere (about 1500 K cooler) and so appear …

…of repetition on average is 11.1 years, but has been as short as 8 years and as long as 16 years. During the maximum of the cycle, more than 100 sunspots can be seen on the Sun at once. During the minima, the Sun sometimes has no spots at all. This cycle is closely related to the magnetism of the Sun. In fact, it is the changing magnetic field of the Sun, which governs many aspects of solar activity.