These features include the dark sunspots, the bright faculae, and granules.
In the neighbourhood surrounding the penumbra the granules appear to be packed more closely, forming brilliant patches called faculae.
Surrounding sunspots are bright patches known as faculae.
It is necessary to suppose, if the analogy is to hold, that the sun is brightest when sunspots and faculae are most numerous; this is by no means unlikely.
It is therefore perhaps misleading actually to class the sun with them; but it seems highly probable that whatever cause produces the periodic outbursts of spots and faculae on our sun differs only in degree from that which, in stars under a different physical condition of pressure and temperature, results in the gigantic conflagrations which we have been considering.