Loading...

Glossary term: Mancha solar

Description: Una mancha solar es una región temporal y fría, provocada por un fuerte campo magnético en la fotosfera del Sol. Las manchas solares son zonas en las que afloran tubos de flujo magnético procedentes de las capas más profundas del Sol. El intenso campo magnético aumenta la presión magnética en estas regiones. Para mantener la misma presión que el entorno, la presión del gas y del plasma en la mancha solar debe disminuir, lo que hace que sea más fría que su entorno. Al ser más frías que la fotosfera circundante, las manchas solares pueden verse a través de un telescopio como manchas oscuras en la superficie del Sol. Las manchas solares varían en tamaño, pueden tener un diámetro que va desde unas decenas de kilómetros hasta más de cien mil kilómetros. Pueden persistir durante periodos de tiempo que van desde unos pocos días hasta varios meses. El número y la ubicación de las manchas solares en el Sol varían a lo largo del ciclo solar. Se cree que otras estrellas también tienen manchas causadas por sus campos magnéticos.

Related Terms:



See this term in other languages

Term and definition status: The original definition of this term in English have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher
The translation of this term and its definition is still awaiting approval

The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".

If you notice a factual or translation error in this glossary term or definition then please get in touch.

In Other Languages

Related Media


Image showing groups of sunspots as dark patches which lie in bands above and below the Sun's equator

Sunspots

Caption: In this image the sun peppered with groups of sunspots over almost nine days between July and August 2012. The sunspots seen in this image have been sources of the solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME). In this image particulary, the sun is approaching solar maximum in its cycle (solar cycle), where we see many spots forming along the suns' equator. These sunspots and activity are seen in the southern hemisphere, before then most of the activity was on the northern hemisphere.
Credit: NASA/SDO/HMI credit link

License: PD Public Domain icons


A dark, roughly circular, black sunspot sends dark fingers out into the bright orange surroundings

Close-up view of a sunspot

Caption: This image of a sunspot was taken by the Daniel K Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST), operated by the U.S. National Science Foundation. It was taken only in light with a wavelength of 530 nanometers, within the greenish-yellow part of the visible spectrum. The picture reveals the detail of the spot's structure and the Sun’s photosphere. The dark central region, known as the umbra, is surrounded by a lighter area called the penumbra with radially elongated features stretching towards the umbra. Note that the umbra and penumbra here are not the same as the umbra and penumbra that occur during an eclipse. The sunspot measures approximately 5000 kilometres in diameter, roughly equivalent to the east-west span of China. While the umbra appears black, it is actually hot and bright. It only appears dark because it is a few thousand kelvin cooler than the surrounding solar photosphere. Surrounding the sunspot, granulation patterns of plasma are visible on the photospheric surface of the Sun.
Credit: NSO/NSF/AURA credit link

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Reconocimiento 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) icons

Related Activities


Measure the Sun's Rotation Period

Measure the Sun's Rotation Period

astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website)
Description: Find out the Sun’s rotation period, applying the simple equation of average speed to a real astronomical case.

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Reconocimiento 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) icons
Tags: Hands-on , History , Experiment , Galileo , average speed
Age Ranges: 16-19
Education Level: Secondary
Areas of Learning: Social Research
Costs: Low Cost
Duration: 1 hour 30 mins
Group Size: Group
Skills: Analysing and interpreting data , Engaging in argument from evidence , Planning and carrying out investigations , Using mathematics and computational thinking


Is the Sun rotating? Follow the sunspots!

Is the Sun rotating? Follow the sunspots!

astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website)
Description: Like a "modern" Galileo, use true astronomical satellite observations to discover if the Sun (and other celestial objects) are rotating!

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Reconocimiento 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) icons
Tags: Hands-on , History , Experiment , Galileo
Age Ranges: 12-14 , 14-16 , 16-19
Education Level: Middle School , Secondary
Areas of Learning: Social Research
Costs: Low Cost
Duration: 1 hour
Group Size: Group
Skills: Analysing and interpreting data , Planning and carrying out investigations