What creates the dark splotches on the sun's face?

The dark splotches on the sun are called sunspots. Sunspots are found within the photosphere of the sun. The photosphere is the surface of the sun and the part of the sun that is seen by humans on Earth. Sunspots appear darker than the surrounding areas because they have lower temperatures than the surrounding areas. Sunspots have a temperature of approximately 4500 K. This is nearly 1500 K cooler than the surrounding areas of the photosphere.

Sunspots are also associated with magnetic fields. Sunspots move across the photosphere in a vortex-like pattern, similar to the way a tornado moves on Earth. As they move, the size of the sunspots may increase or decrease. Such movement is sometimes referred to as magnetic storms.