The Enigma of Sunspots

Sunspots, the strange and elusive dark shapes that periodically sweep across the Sun’s surface, have mystified people for centuries. Given their elusive cyclical nature and the fact that it is both painful and dangerous to observe the Sun directly, it is little wonder that records of sunspots are almost nonexistent in Europe before the seventeenth century. Today these solar emissions are thought to coincide with major effects in global weather pattern, making a deeper understanding of sunspots of vital importance today.