This video taken by the Swedish Solar Telescope in 2002 shows a high resolution view of a sunspot. The dark region on the right is the sunspot’s umbra, a region where magnetic flux has inhibited convection. This prevents hot plasma beneath the surface from rising. This allows the surface plasma to cool and darken. The umbra shown here is about the size of the Earth. Surrounding the umbra is the penumbra, stretches of filaments that appear to be reaching into the umbra. They are convective, movin