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You are here: Home / Science / Why are Sunrises and Sunsets So Colorful?

Why are Sunrises and Sunsets So Colorful?

May 27, 2020 by Karen Hill

When the sun is low in the sky at sunrise or sunset, you’re seeing it straight-on through a great distance of atmosphere.

While traversing all that atmosphere, a lot of the blue light that started out in your direction gets scattered into many other directions, so the light that reaches you straight-on is depleted in blue.

Sunlight that is depleted in blue looks red, orange or yellow, depending on what size particles of dust happen to be in the air, and what other colors they are therefore scattering. If that kills the romance, forget that I ever said anything.

Make your own sunset.

Add a few drops of milk to a clear glass of water and look through the glass at a light bulb. The bulb will look red, yellow or orange. The light coming to you from the bulb is depleted in blue because of scattering from the tiny casein particles and butterfat globules suspended in the milk.

The exact color that you see depends on the size and concentration of these particles in the water.

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  • Why Are Sunsets Red and the Sky Blue?
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  • Does the Moon Turn Red When It Sets and Is It the Same Reason Sunsets Are Red?
  • Who first discovered that Dinosaurs were warm blooded, colorful, intelligent, ancient ancestors of birds and When?
  • How Do Brightly Colored Colorful Butterflies Serve As a Defense Mechanism Against Predators?

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