How can scientists determine a timeline for the divergence of species? Describe how the process works.

relative dating involves things like higher layers are most recent than rocks lower in the sequence. this can be extended to the known sequence of fossils. rocks containing rabbit fossils are later than those containing dinosaur fossils.  

absolute dating methods mainly use radioactive elements that have known rates of decay and produce recognizable products. for example potassium 40 decays to produce argon. once a rock has solidified the argon is trapped. by measuring the argon and potassium0 you can get an accurate number for the age.  

some other methods are good for archaeological ages. dendrochronology involves recognizing the sequence of tree rings. the orientation of magnetized particles in baked clay can be used to date a fire.

hope this .. .

the circled areas are referred to   as sunspots.   the sunspots are cooler than the   surrounding area.

sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the sun that appear visibly as dark spots compared to surrounding regions. they correspond to concentrations of magnetic field flux that inhibit convection and result in reduced surface temperature compared to the surrounding photosphere.