Sometimes the surface of the Sun is dotted with dark regions called sunspots. These areas look dark because they are cooler than the surrounding regions. Sunspots appear in eleven-year cycles. Halfway through each cycle, during a time called solar maximum, we see many sunspots. Then, they gradually reduce over five years until there are few sunspots. This phase is called solar minimum. Sunspots are related to solar activity, particularly in bright outbursts called flares.