APOD: 2026 February 11 – A Year of Sunspots

Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the February 11, 2026 edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD).

A round of applause for the two researchers that came up with this concept to represent all observed sunspots for the year 2025 (there are 12 images of the Sun arranged about the central image..in case you had not counted them already). And if you didn't realize that the Sun itself rotates (like the Earth), it does. Each of the 12 composite images shows the sunspots for a particular month, and the central image gives you a representation of the entire year.

I had no idea that sunspots tend to group within such a tight band about the Sun's equator. But they do. Shout out to Cpl Vic Burk: I'd love to hear how your students react to this if you have a chance to share it with them.