The sky's red color during sunset and sunrise

[rishch]

I understand why the sun is red,, due to most of the blue light of shorter wavelength being scattered in other directions because the sunlight has to travel through more atmosphere before it reaches our eyes, but why does the surrounding sky appear red to us?

 

[phinds]

Got a good answer by Googleing "why are sunsets red"

 

[rishch]

I know why sunsets are red, but I want to know why the sky surrounding the sun is red.

 

[Drakkith]

Why is the sky surrounding the Sun red during a sunset? Scattering of light and refraction. Red light is still scattered by the air, and during a sunset the light has to go through so much air that most of the blue light is already absorbed, leaving the longer wavelengths to get through. But even these longer wavelengths are still scattered some, so you see the reds and oranges since they actually make it through the atmosphere to you. Also, look closely as the Sun goes down and you should be able to see a subtle rainbow effect, with the colors changing as you get further away from the horizon due to refraction from the atmosphere.

 

[pmacias]

The red color of the sky during sunrise and sunset is due to a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. This is the same process that causes the blue color of the sky during the day. When sunlight enters the Earth's atmosphere, it interacts with particles in the air such as dust, water droplets, and gases. These particles are smaller than the wavelength of visible light, so they scatter the light in all directions. However, shorter blue wavelengths are scattered more than longer red wavelengths. This is why the sky appears blue during the day when the sun is high in the sky.

During sunrise and sunset, the sun is closer to the horizon, and the sunlight has to travel through a thicker layer of the atmosphere before reaching our eyes. This means that more of the blue light is scattered away, leaving mostly red light to reach our eyes. This is why the sun appears red during these times, and the surrounding sky also takes on a red color due to the scattered red light.

Additionally, the particles in the atmosphere also play a role in the color of the sky. During sunrise and sunset, there are more particles in the lower atmosphere, such as dust and pollution, which can also scatter the red light and contribute to the red color of the sky.

In conclusion, the red color of the sky during sunrise and sunset is a result of Rayleigh scattering, where the longer red wavelengths are less scattered than the shorter blue wavelengths. This, combined with the presence of particles in the lower atmosphere, creates the beautiful red hues that we see during these times of the day.