Final answer:
Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the Sun's surface that follow an 11-year cycle, known as the sunspot cycle, where their number peaks and then diminishes. This cycle is connected to the Sun's magnetic field, and periods of exceedingly low activity, like the Maunder Minimum, highlight the complex nature of solar dynamics.
Step-by-step explanation:
The phenomenon of sunspots and their cyclical nature falls into the subject of Physics. The fairly regular pattern observed in the number and distribution of sunspots, where an average maximum is reached approximately every 11 years before diminishing, is known as the sunspot cycle. Individual sunspots may only last a short duration, ranging from hours to months, but collectively their appearance on the Sun fluctuates in a cyclical pattern. During periods of sunspot maximum, there can be over 100 spots visible at once on the Sun's surface. However, even at these peak times, less than one-half of one percent of the Sun's surface is covered by spots.
This cycle reflects the dynamic nature of the Sun's magnetic field. It's noteworthy that at the end of each 11-year cycle, the magnetic polarities of sunspots reverse in each hemisphere of the Sun, contributing to a full magnetic activity cycle that spans 22 years. Historical records such as the Maunder Minimum and the Little Maunder Minimum show that there have been prolonged periods with exceptionally low sunspot activity, hinting at a complex and not completely understood interaction between the Sun's magnetic activity and its surface phenomena.