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

His sketches captured sunspots, which helped astronomers determine that the solar cycles were still occurring as expected when Kepler observed them, rather than lasting for abnormally long amounts of time as previously believed. —Cnn, The Mercury News, 25 Dec. 2024

However, a large sunspot — a dark area of intense magnetic complexity on the sun's surface — produced an M8.9-class solar flare at 11:12 UTC on Dec. 23. —Jamie Carter, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024

Solar flares are intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation from sunspots on the sun. —Jamie Carter, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024

That's what creates the sunspots that appear in telescope images as dark patches. —Denise Chow, NBC News, 1 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1676, in the meaning defined above

Kids 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