[fak-yuh-luh] 
[-lee] . Astronomy. | an irregular, unusually bright patch on the sun's surface. |
| fac·u·la (fāk'yə-lə) n. pl. fac·u·lae (-lē') Any of various large bright spots or veined patches on the sun's photosphere, usually near sunspots. [Latin, small torch, diminutive of fax, fac-, torch.] |
| facula (fāk'yə-lə) Pronunciation Key
Plural faculae (fāk'yə-lē') A bright, cloudlike structure on the Sun's surface, ascending several hundred kilometers above the photosphere and often associated with sunspots. Faculae are formed when a strong magnetic field heats a region of the photosphere to higher temperatures than the surrounding area. They occur all over the Sun but are usually only visible near the limb (the outer edge of the Sun's apparent disk), where the photosphere appears dimmer than in the center. |
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