Photosphere - Sunspots and Granulation

NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams (left); Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences - Oddbjorn Engvold, Jun Elin Wiik, Luc Rouppe van der Voort (right)

The photo on the left shows the Sun as viewed by the NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft on November 9, 2011. Several sunspots are visible on the photosphere, the visible surface of the Sun. The image on the right is a close-up view of the photosphere, showing "cells" of convection known as solar granulation.