The sun is beaming with energy and staring directly into it is a bad idea. But if you have a solar filter, you can look at the sun and what you will find is a gigantic sunspot moving on the surface of the Sun. The Kodaikanal Solar Observatory on the southern tip of the Palani Hills has captured the sunspot AR3190 in its full glory. Sunspots, according to Nasa, sunspots are areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun. The electrically charged gases generate areas of powerful magnetic forces. “The Sun’s gases are constantly moving, which tangles, stretches, and twists the magnetic fields. This motion creates a lot of activity on the Sun’s surface, called solar activity,” Nasa says. Sunspots are dark because they are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface and the Sun is currently heading towards a solar maximum in its 11-year cycle. The cycle is set to peak in 2025.
