Sunspots are cool dark splotches on the suns surface.  These areas are much cooler than the rest of the sun, the sun is 11,000 degrees and the spots may be 7,200 degrees. Sunspots are the result of magnetic fields in the sun that give gas particles that give off extra energy, shooting out of the surface. When they particles rise they cool slightly making a dark spot. The spots are often found in pairs because they come in plus and negative charges (North and South Pole magnets). The positively charged spots are believed to be when the magnetic lines leave the sun and the negatively charged spots where they return. A sun spot can by 185,000 miles long.