Molecule H2 Cycle (IMAGE)

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Molecule H2 Cycle

Caption

During the initial stage of sunspot emergence and cooling, the formation of H2 may trigger a temporary “runaway” magnetic field intensification. The magnetic field prevents the flow of energy from inside the sun to the outside, and the sunspot cools as the energy shines into space. They form hydrogen molecules that take half the volume of the atoms, thus dropping pressure and concentrating the magnetic field, and so on.

Credit

Adapted from Jaeggli, 2011; sunspot image by F. Woeger et al., NSO/AURA/NSF

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