For the genus of gossamer-winged butterflies, see Facula (butterfly).

The bright areas visible here on the Sun are facula.

A facula (plural: faculae) is literally a "bright spot." It is used in planetary nomenclature for naming certain surface features of planets and moons, and is also a type of surface phenomenon on the Sun.

Solar faculae are bright spots that form in the canyons between solar granules, short-lived convection cells several thousand kilometers across that constantly form and dissipate over timescales of several minutes. Faculae are produced by concentrations of magnetic field lines, and are most commonly found in the vicinity of sunspots; this is why the Sun is actually brighter when sunspots are more numerous.

The Sun
Structure	Solar core - Radiation zone - Convection zone
Atmosphere	Photosphere - Chromosphere - Transition region - Corona
Extended structure	Termination Shock - Heliosphere - Heliopause - Heliosheath - Bow Shock
Solar phenomena	Sunspots - Faculae - Granules - Supergranulation - Solar Wind - Spicules - Coronal loops - Solar Flares - Solar Prominences - Coronal Mass Ejections - Moreton Waves - Coronal Holes
Other	Solar System - Solar Variation - Solar Dynamo - Heliospheric Current Sheet - Solar Radiation - Solar Eclipse - Spectral Class: G2

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Facula". Image Credit.

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