Space Weather Introduction

   What are scientists talking about when they say "space weather"? How is it like weather on Earth? How is it different? How does space weather affect me? Can astronomers forecast space weather, and if so, how? What are the unsolved mysteries in the field of space weather? Read on...

Sunspots don't look that big when you see them on the Sun (remember NEVER look directly at the Sun), but in fact they can be enormous!  This composite image shows just how big sunspots can be, to scale with an image of Earth.  Sunspots can be as big, or bigger, than Earth.  The <a href="/sun/activity/sunspot_history.html&edu=elem">earliest written record of a sunspot observation</a> was made by Chinese astronomers around 800 B.C.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA/Trace Mission</em></small></p>

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