sunspot
noun
sun·spot
ˈsən-ˌspät 
: any of the dark spots that appear at times on the sun's surface and are usually visible only through a telescope
Examples of sunspot in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Current solar cycle beginning Scientists monitor the development of the solar cycle and sunspots.
—
George Petras, USA TODAY, 17 May 2024
One telltale sign of high solar activity is sunspots, small patches of twisted magnetic fields on the sun.
—Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 15 May 2024
The activity stemmed from a cluster of sunspots around 17 times the diameter of Earth.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2024
The solar storm's origin is connected to a cluster of sunspots on the sun's surface.
—John Helton, NPR, 12 May 2024
The spectacle is being caused by geomagnetic storms that erupt from a sunspot cluster on the sun.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 12 May 2024
As of Saturday afternoon, the sunspot still remains quite active and produced two or more flares in the past 12 hours, according to NOAA.
—Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 11 May 2024
Advertisement On Wednesday morning, astronomers noted a series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections — essentially, giant explosions of energy — emanating from a massive sunspot more than 15 times the diameter of Earth.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2024
Considered our solar system's largest explosive events, solar flares occur when magnetic energy associated with sunspots is released, creating intense bursts of radiation.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
George Petras, USA TODAY, 17 May 2024
One telltale sign of high solar activity is sunspots, small patches of twisted magnetic fields on the sun.
—Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 15 May 2024
The activity stemmed from a cluster of sunspots around 17 times the diameter of Earth.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2024
The solar storm's origin is connected to a cluster of sunspots on the sun's surface.
—John Helton, NPR, 12 May 2024
The spectacle is being caused by geomagnetic storms that erupt from a sunspot cluster on the sun.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 12 May 2024
As of Saturday afternoon, the sunspot still remains quite active and produced two or more flares in the past 12 hours, according to NOAA.
—Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 11 May 2024
Advertisement On Wednesday morning, astronomers noted a series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections — essentially, giant explosions of energy — emanating from a massive sunspot more than 15 times the diameter of Earth.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2024
Considered our solar system's largest explosive events, solar flares occur when magnetic energy associated with sunspots is released, creating intense bursts of radiation.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sunspot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Sunspot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sunspot. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sunspot
noun
sun·spot
-ˌspät
: one of the dark spots that appear from time to time on the sun's surface and are usually visible only through a telescope
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