Thought folks might find this interesting.

(Hidden Boundaries of Sunspots Pump Out Plasma Into Interplanetary Space)

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/solar-b/08-144.html

Complicated networks of magnetic fields power the sun's atmosphere and create both the beautiful structures and violent explosions that scientists study. Active regions, anchored in sunspots, are areas of the sun where the concentrated magnetic fields that give rise to these phenomena are extremely strong. Measured in ultraviolet or X-ray wavelengths these regions appear bright against the cooler surface.

...the dim areas at the edges of active regions may hold the key to understanding how the sun converts vast amounts of energy from its surface into the solar wind. The solar wind is a stream of electrically conductive gas [plasma], flowing out from the sun that defines the Earth's space environment. Previously, solar researchers believed that solar wind originated in areas of the sun away from active regions. This new discovery indicates that solar wind may have a second origin.

The hot gas [plasma] is channeled along magnetic field lines that open into interplanetary space.

These massive outflows arise from previously ignored edges around active regions may prove be a significant contributor to the solar wind.

"The fringes of active regions are far more interesting than we thought," said Doschek. "Outflow areas from sunspots are faint in extreme-ultraviolet radiation, and it was a surprise to measure such huge amounts of plasma streaming out of these dim boundary regions."