Sunspot Model
Safety Warnings
Warning: Electrical Safety
Warning: Heat Hazard
Purpose
Demonstrates why sunspots appear dark despite being at ~4000 K — hot enough to outshine the full moon. A glowing filament appears bright in darkness but dark against a brighter background, illustrating that perceived brightness is relative, not absolute.
Figure 1:
With the overhead projector on, the bulb's filament appears as dark lines against the bright background — modeling how sunspots appear dark on the Sun despite being hot.
Figure 2:
With the overhead projector off, the same filament appears as a bright glowing line against the dark background — analogous to how a sunspot would appear if viewed in isolation.