This chapter covers what phenomena we observe on the surface and in the atmosphere of the Sun, and how these influence what we observe and how we live our lives on Earth.

Students learn about sunspots, the cooler areas on the visible surface of the Sun. They learn how to count sunspots and sunspot groups on images of the Sun. They will notice that changes are visible on the Sun’s disk on images of the Sun taken a few days apart, especially in the appearance and number of sunspots, and follow the movement of sunspots across the disk of the Sun on satellite images to determine how fast the Sun rotates.

This free sample chapter also includes the Table of Contents, Introduction, and the Index.