• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Science / Where did the Color of the Sky Come From and Why is it Blue?

Where did the Color of the Sky Come From and Why is it Blue?

May 14, 2020 by Karen Hill

The sky is blue for the same reason that cigarette smoke is blue: the preferential scattering of blue light by tiny particles.

Pure air is colorless, of course, meaning that all visible wavelengths (colors) of light pass through it without being absorbed. But it contains molecules and, often, suspended dust motes that are smaller than the wavelengths of visible light and that therefore scatter it.

As is the case with the cigarette smoke particles, the blue light is scattered more than the other colors, which tend to go straight through the air without much change of direction.

When you look at the sky, you’re seeing all the colors in sunlight that are coming down toward you, mainly from some direction off to one side, wherever the sun happens to be. But in addition to that, you’re getting some extra blue light that is being “scattered off the air” from many other directions.

Thus, you’re receiving an excess of blue light over what the sun is putting straight out, and the sky looks bluer than the sun’s own daylight.

Related Facts

  • Where does the term "Blue Sky Law" come from and What does Blue-Sky Law mean?
  • Why Does Sea Water Appear Blue and Is Sea Water Blue Because It Is Reflecting the Color Of the Sky?
  • Why is the sky blue and why is a sunset red when air is colorless?
  • Where did the blue blazer come from and How did the blue blazer become a classic?
  • Why Are Sunsets Red and the Sky Blue?
  • Why Is the Sky Blue On a Clear Day and How Does Rayleigh Scattering Cause the Red Colors At Sunset?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Why is the Smoke From a Cigarette Blue but Turns White when Exhaled?
Next Post: Why are Sunrises and Sunsets So Colorful? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy