These two pictures show sunspots on the Sun. Sunspots only form near the Sun's equator. They never form near the Sun's poles. Click on image for full size (63 Kb) Images courtesy of SOHO/NASA/ESA.

Earth has a North Pole, a South Pole, and an equator. The Sun does too! Some things are different at the Sun's poles from the way they are near the Sun's equator.

The Sun has a magnetic field. The Sun's magnetic field has a North Magnetic Pole and a South Magnetic Pole. About every 11 years, the Sun's magnetic poles flip. North becomes South and South becomes North.

Did you know that the Sun has spots? Sunspots are dark places on the "surface" of the Sun. The magnetic field around sunspots is much, much stronger than normal. Sunspots only show up near the Sun's equator. We never see sunspots near the Sun's poles.

The Sun is a bit like a huge ball. However, it is not a solid ball. It is a ball made of gas and plasma. Some parts of the Sun-ball spin around faster than other parts. The part near the equator spins fastest. Places near the poles spin around more slowly.

The Sun has an atmosphere. The Sun's atmosphere near the poles is different from its atmosphere near the equator. The corona is part of the Sun's atmosphere. The corona sticks out further from the Sun's surface near the equator. The corona doesn't stick out as far above the poles. The solar wind is also different at the poles. It "blows" much faster above the poles than it does above the Sun's equator.