Is the Sun Darkening?

(Editor's note: The Sun has no dark side. That was a solar physics joke.) Because of the way the Sun spins (counterclockwise in the diagram above), STEREO-B gets a sneak preview of sunspots and coronal holes before they turn to face Earth—a boon for forecasters.

Can the Sun turn dark?

Will the Sun become a black hole? No, it's too small for that! The Sun would need to be about 20 times more massive to end its life as a black hole. ... In about 5 billion years, the Sun will start to run out of hydrogen in its core to fuse, and it will begin to collapse.

What is it called when the Sun is darkened?

Eclipses give scientists opportunities to get more data to study the corona in depth. We can also learn about Earth itself. In an area affected by an eclipse, the darkening of the sun leads to a sudden drop in temperature.