Astronomers shed new light on puzzling origins of sun’s magnetic field

The models were also able to demonstrate how sunspots are linked to the sun’s magnetic activity

Illustration of the Sun’s magnetic fields over an image captured by Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (Nasa/SDO/AIA/LMSAL)

The sun’s magnetic field is created only 20,000 miles below its surface, scientists have said, shedding new light on the 400-year-old solar mystery that once puzzled Italian astronomer Galileo.

Dark patches on the sun known as sunspots – the tell-tale signs of magnetic solar activity – was documented by Galileo as early as 1612.