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The amount of facula and plage area varies in phase with the solar cycle, and they are more abundant than sunspots by approximately an order of magnitude. [37] They exhibit a non linear relation to sunspots. [38] Plage regions are also associated with strong magnetic fields in the solar surface. [39] [40]
Solar cycles are nearly periodic 11-year changes in the Sun's activity that are based on the number of sunspots present on the Sun's surface. The first solar cycle conventionally is said to have started in 1755. The source data are the revised International Sunspot Numbers (ISN v2.0), as available at SILSO. [1]
The Sun will spend a total of approximately 10 to 11 billion years as a main-sequence star before the red giant phase of the Sun. [135] At the 8 billion year mark, the Sun will be at its hottest point according to the ESA's Gaia space observatory mission in 2022. [136]
The current Sun compared to its peak size in the red-giant phase. The Sun's main-sequence phase, from beginning to end, will last about 10 billion years for the Sun compared to around two billion years for all other subsequent phases of the Sun's pre-remnant life combined. [30]
A planetary phase is a certain portion of a planet's area that reflects sunlight as viewed from a given vantage point, as well as the period of time during which it occurs. The phase is determined by the phase angle , which is the angle between the planet, the Sun and the Earth.
Sun passes through helium-burning horizontal-branch and asymptotic-giant-branch phases, losing a total of ~30% of its mass in all post-main-sequence phases. The asymptotic-giant-branch phase ends with the ejection of its outer layers as a planetary nebula, leaving the dense core of the Sun behind as a white dwarf. [118] [129] Remnant Sun
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially.Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season in its new moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of Earth's orbit. [1]
On 12 February, after rotating to the far side of the Sun, the same region released a strong CME. As it was invisible from Earth, it was impossible to assess the flare's strength, but it nonetheless caused proton storm levels to briefly reach S2 again on February 12–13. On 22 February, region 3590 produced a solar flare measuring X6.3. [58]