article: You would be forgiven for thinking that the sun looked like a giant yolk after an amateur astronomer captured what looks like a chick sitting on its surface. The strange formation was photographed by amateur astronomer Gordon Ewen, and is a sun spot. The phenomenon is fairly common and the number of spots on the solar surface reflects with how active the sun is. They occur when a concentration of magnetic fields causes the surface temperature to reduce, making a specific section of the sun stand out from its surroundings. The sun's having a yolk! Sun spots range hugely in size, from just 10 miles (16km) to 100,000 miles (160,000km) wide - big enough to be seen from Earth without a telescope. Each one can be more than ten times the size of our planet . Gordon Ewen captured the festive photograph using a telescope at the bottom of his garden. Mr Ewen, 57, set up the observatory shed at the bottom of the garden in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, after he left his job five years ago. 'I've been interested in astronomy since I was a child. I remember I used to love borrowing books about space from the library and I had telescope when I was 10,' he said. 'But It all took a backseat when I went to university to study chemistry though.' The photograph of the chick-like sun spot was taken on March 10 at midday. The large telescope focuses on a specific wavelength of light and allows him to see the details created on the sun's surface as hydrogen gas surfaces and swirls. Sun spots range in size, from just 10 miles (16km) to 100,000 miles (160,000km) wide - big enough to be seen from Earth without a telescope, and more than ten times the size of our planet. Sunspots have a temperature of anywhere from 2,700 to 4,200°C (4,890 to 7,590°F), compared to 5,500°C (9,930°F) for the surrounding solar material, which is why they are so visible. Sunspots are also sometimes the source of eruptions on the sun, namely solar flares . No, the picture on the left is not a sun spot...: The photograph of the chick-like sunspot was taken using Gordon Ewen's telescope that focuses on a specific wavelength of light. This allows him to see the details created on the sun's surface (another example of his work pictured, right) Mr Ewen, 57, set up the observatory (pictured) shed at the bottom of the garden in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, after he left his job five years ago. 'I've been interested in astronomy since I was a child. I remember I used to love borrowing books about space from the library,' he said . They can have a temperature of anywhere from 2,700 to 4,200°C (4,890 to 7,590°F), compared to 5,500°C (9,930°F) for the surrounding solar material, which is why they are so visible. The hot spots are also the source of eruptions on the sun, mainly solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), all of which are linked to magnetic fields. The sun goes through a periodic change in activity known as a solar cycle, which has an average duration of 11 years. This also affects the frequency of sunspots. Sunspots should not be confused with coronal holes, regions of the corona - an aura of plasma around the sun - where the magnetic field reaches out into space rather than looping back down onto the surface. Sun spots are also the source of eruptions on the sun, mainly solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), all of which are linked to magnetic fields (a picture of a coronal mass ejection taken by Mr Ewen, pictured)
highlights: Strange formation is a sun spot and fairly common.The number on the surface correlates with how active the sun is .
  Spots occur when magnetic fields causes surface temperature to reduce, making a section stand out .
  Have temperature of up to 4,200°C (7,590°F), compared to 5,500°C (9,930°F) of the surrounding solar material .
  Gordon Ewen captured the unique photograph using a large telescope at the bottom of his garden in Hertfordshire .
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