| Term: | Solar faculae |
| Definition: |
A bright area of the photosphere of the Sun visible in white light and best seen near the solar limb, although they occur all across the Sun. Faculae raise several hundred kilometers above the photosphere and are associated with sunspots. They often appear immediately before the formation of a sunspot group and remain visible for several days or weeks after the disappearance of the spots. Faculae are formed when a strong magnetic field heats a region of the photosphere to higher temperatures than the surrounding area. |