What is Sky: Definition and 269 Discussions

The sky is everything that lies above the surface of the Earth, including the atmosphere and outer space.
In the field of astronomy, the sky is also called the celestial sphere. This is an abstract sphere, concentric to the Earth, on which the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars appear to be drifting. The celestial sphere is conventionally divided into designated areas called constellations.
Usually, the term sky informally refers to a perspective from the Earth's surface; however, the meaning and usage can vary. An observer on the surface of the Earth can see a small part of the sky, which resembles a dome (sometimes called the sky bowl) appearing flatter during the day than at night. In some cases, such as in discussing the weather, the sky refers to only the lower, denser layers of the atmosphere.
The daytime sky appears blue because air molecules scatter shorter wavelengths of sunlight more than longer ones (redder light). The night sky appears to be a mostly dark surface or region spangled with stars. The Sun and sometimes the Moon are visible in the daytime sky unless obscured by clouds. At night, the Moon, planets, and stars are similarly visible in the sky.
Some of the natural phenomena seen in the sky are clouds, rainbows, and aurorae. Lightning and precipitation are also visible in the sky. Certain birds and insects, as well as human inventions like aircraft and kites, can fly in the sky. Due to human activities, smog during the day and light pollution during the night are often seen above large cities.

View More On Wikipedia.org
  1. Mk

    Correct me on something about the sun's movement in the sky

    Would this statement be correct?
  2. Z

    Why Bluer sky with orange sunglasses

    If I rember correctly, the sky seems more blue, when you look through a pair of sunglasses with orange glass. Why is that ? can anyone help out here. Orange glass is orange because it absorbs some of the blue light - but then the sky should be less blue - right ? -ZeroGravity
  3. C

    Mysterious Orange Light in the Sky

    This happened about a month ago. I was looking out my window at the sky at about 10 o'clock at night. I was looking West and I noticed an orange light. It hadn't been there moments earlier. About thirty seconds later it was gone. I figured it might have been a plane, but it didn't move. It just...
  4. wolram

    UK's Night Sky: Is It Becoming Clearer?

    The night sky in my area does seem clearer of late, even with the multi giga watt street/road lights shining bright many stars can be seen, is this true across the uk?
  5. A

    Unusual object I saw in sky in Boston area

    Hi! I just saw something very unusual in the Boston sky today at 4:00 PM. Yes, in the middle of daylight. It looked a lot like a star and it was almost straight up. It then slowly moved roughly from west to east and went maybe 45 degrees in 5-6 minutes. That would give whatever it is an...
  6. C

    Constellations in the Night Sky

    Im living in India, and I've just got a telescope, what constellations could I see? And how do I go about checking them out?
  7. L

    Sky colour explanation by scattering

    I have done a little research on the internet and I would like to ask my concept is correct or not. 1) Sky is blue As the effect of rayleigh scattering is more effective for shorter wavelength, blue light scatter more than others (e.g. red). Furthermore, our eyes are more sensitive to blue...
  8. Holocene

    What happens when you point a laser-pointer into the sky?

    Suppose it's a very clear night. You take a laser-pointer, and briefly allow it to "shine" into the sky. Will the photons emitted from your laser actually make it millions of miles into space? Or will they somehow "dissipate" and not make it that far? It would be very cool to think that...
  9. M

    Exploring the Night Sky: Learn about Constellations

    I want to learn about the night sky and the data about constilation so when I look at the sky I could figure out which star belongs to (x) constilation and its relative position with others... Is there any link which can help me out? Thanks for your help
  10. C

    End of the Sky: Is There a Limit?

    Is there any end to the sky?Why do we think that if the universe is expanding then it had exploded from a single object?Why not think there is some extra force outside this universe making it expand?Can anybody imagine what the end of the sky or space would be like(may be a beginning of a space...
  11. K

    Big Rip Red Sky? - Universe's Fate Explored

    Hi, I'm curious about one thing. Suppose the universe will end in a Big Rip. Then since the universe will be accelerating at a very fast rate, could it be that the sky will look redder and redder towards the Big Rip?
  12. M

    Mystery in the Sky: What is the Rainbow-Shaped Cloud?

    What IS this? Yesterday I was driving home from school when I saw that in the clouds there was what seemed to look like a portion of a rainbow :confused: :confused: I thought it was weird, so I took a picture of it while driving, with my cell phone, so it's not the best quality :redface...
  13. K

    Interested in The Sky at Night webcasts?

    I don't know if anyone would be interested, but for some time the BBC have been broadcasting The Sky At Night over the web for anyone with Real Player. This show is broadcast once a month in the UK (don't know if its on the world service either) and is an astronomy & astro physics magazine...
  14. D

    Why doesn't the sky crush us all?

    Why doesn't the sky crush us all?? I'm sure I've thought this through before but after an afternoon wondering I need to ask: Why is it that the billions of tons of air above us doesn't crush us? Thanks for the help!
  15. ZapperZ

    What are the best photos from the Fire in the Sky contest?

    It started out very slow, and then end in a fury of outstanding pictures. So again, congratulations to everyone who participated. This is going to turn out to be another difficult contest to pick. 1. ZapperZ http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/7945/img38639zy.jpg 2. Moonbear...
  16. ZapperZ

    Photo Contest - Fire In The Sky (6/29-7/5)

    Fire In The Sky With the US Independence Day coming up on the 4th of July, what more appropriate theme to have right now than... FIREWORKS! All your pictures must feature fireworks. It does not, however, include unexploded fireworks (i.e. pictures of fireworks in a package in some store do...
  17. Gokul43201

    More Things in the Sky: What are They?

    More "Things in the Sky" RULES: 1. Each person may attempt to answer only 1 question. If there are unanswered questions in say, two days, I'll announce a free-for-all, whence everyone may go for all the remaining ones. 2. You may Google all but the last question. Some of the questions are...
  18. Evo

    What Can You Spot in the Sky? Test Your Knowledge with This Quiz!

    "Things in the sky" quiz All right boys and girls, here's an easy quiz to get started. Let's sharpen up those pointy heads. Please do not google the answers, these are easy enough and it's multiple choice. If I could get them right without googling, so can you. Please answer in...
  19. V

    Why Does the Sky Appear Blue During the Day?

    okay, i forgot why is the sky blue again? :confused:
  20. marcus

    Gammaray Sky animation (what GLAST will see)

    http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060531.html GLAST means "gammaray large area space telescope" http://glast.gsfc.nasa.gov/public/ and it is scheduled to fly in 2007 this is a 55 frame animation of the full sky you can see the Milkyway snaking across, roughly east-west. there are...
  21. -Job-

    Same star in many places in the sky

    Consider the possibility that the universe isn't infinite exactly, but that it just wraps around (like the surface of a sphere) giving the impression of being infinitely large. If this is the case then some light emitted by a star, which is not absorved, may have the chance of going around the...
  22. V

    Unraveling the Truth: Navigating a Country of Liars and Truthsayers

    :yuck: there is a terrible problem with me , my younger brother ask me a question that I had tried my best to think but it's too difficult for me , he say if in fact it happens , we sit on a chair anh wait to die ?:rofl: There is a country has 3 cities , the true city , lie...
  23. E

    Mysteries of the Bright Red Cloudy Sky

    I've often observed the sky in the late evening and it was dark. But on cloudy days, the sky is actually bright. The housetops appear dark compared to the sky. And the clouds appear in a dark red tone Anyone has an explanation for this? Does the light come from earth, from the moon or from the...
  24. R

    Uncovering the Mystery of Why the Sky Isn't Green

    The sky is blue because the white light is diffused by the light particles, which scatter out the blue end of the spectrum, hense a blue sky. In the afternoon, it is often red or orange, because the light has to travel much longer through the atmosphere, scattering out the red end of the...
  25. F

    Frictional Force of sky diver

    A skydiver jumps from an airplane and descends at a constant velocity of 2m/s. The mass of the skydiver and his equipment is 70kg. Calculate the magnitude of the air's frictional force acting on the skydiver and his equipment. F = 70kg x 9,8N/kg = 686N I'm lost :yuck:
  26. Mk

    Why is the Sky Blue? Reasons Explained

    What are some reasons that the sky is blue?
  27. E

    Message in the Sky: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Heavens

    Message in the sky http://www.arxiv.org/PS_cache/physics/pdf/0510/0510102.pdf
  28. Pengwuino

    Boeing Boeing unvails new technologies in the sky

    http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8117 Well that about does it. I never want to fly in my lifetime.
  29. C

    Solving Skydiving Problems: Acceleration & Air Resistance

    (a) What is the acceleration of two falling sky divers (mass 102.0 kg including parachute) when the upward force of air resistance is equal to one-fourth of their weight? ________ m/s2 (downward) (b) After popping open the parachute, the divers descend leisurely to the ground at constant...
  30. honestrosewater

    Look at the Heavens: Unveiling New Wonders Through Science & Poetry

    What do you guys think about when you look at the sky, sun, stars, other heavenly bodies? I think about lots of things: various connections to legend, literature, and science; what's out there that I can't see; which stars are still there; 'the stage is too big for the drama'; someone or...
  31. A

    Glimpsing a Mysterious Whizzing Object in the Night Sky

    i saw summin last night it whoosshed past, i was just looking out the window at the stars it was a really clear night and then i saw it i don't kno what it was a comet? or a rock or something falling to earth. but it made me feel better, i was feeling upset before. around quarter to 9.
  32. C

    Identification of an object in the sky

    I saw a star just yesterday night about southwest in the sky, and when viewed through my telescope it was flashing red and blue.It was no plane for it was there all night.Is this caused by the atmosphere?If not what is it?
  33. C

    Power Outage & Mysterious Sky Objects in My Neighborhood

    I live in a pretty well lighted neighborhood.Lately the entire neighborhoods power has been going out. It makes it completely black outside.I saw a red star or something very low to the horizon northeast in the sky?anyone know what that may be?I also saw a star that was flickering all sorts of...
  34. marcus

    On the large-angle anomalies of the microwave sky

    This paper just came out this month http://www.arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0508047/ On the large-angle anomalies of the microwave sky C. J. Copi (1), D. Huterer (2), D. J. Schwarz (3), G. D. Starkman (1) ((1) Case Western Reserve University, (2) University of Chicago, (3) Universitat...
  35. Pengwuino

    60 years ago, E=mc^2 lit up the sky

    Well today is the 60th anniversary of the first atomic bomb test. It was the bomb that ended arguably, the worst war in human history.
  36. L

    Exploring the Mystery of Why the Sky is Dark

    The stars in the sky are all emitting their own light. The light is reflected for infinitely many times and part of the light energy will be stored in objects. But why is the sky so dark? Why is it not bright?
  37. M

    Does nightime sky face outer or inner galaxy?

    I recently came across an argument that stated that Earth's nighttime view pretty much always faces the outer rim of our galaxy, while the day time view is facing right towards the center, which of course we don't see due to sunlight. There was refrenced a few indian tribes in s.america who trek...
  38. Ivan Seeking

    Stowaway falls from sky [Warning: This a horrible accident]

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/07/AR2005060701545.html
  39. F

    Solving the Sky Hook (Beanstalk) Equation - 65 Characters

    Dear friends, <<A cable of constant mass per unit length (p) points straight up hovering over a point on the Equator. How long has to be the cable?>> I believe there's a mistake in my answer and I need somebody to give me a hint. What I've done is: integrate dF(gravitational force) over...
  40. Orion1

    Can Meteors Destroy Civilizations and Bring Life to Our Planet?

    This DVD is also available for purchase for physicists and physical science students at: http://www.historychannel.com/
  41. M

    Is the Sky Disc of Nebra a genuine ancient artifact or a modern forgery?

    Source; The Guardian - London, UK http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,1427600,00.html 03-01-05 Ancient Sky Map Or Fake? German Experts Row Over Star Disc Luke Harding in Berlin The Guardian quote:"One of Germany's most acclaimed archaeological finds - a 3,600-...
  42. turbo

    Average luminosity of night sky vs frequency

    Average luminosity of night sky vs frequency... What is the average luminosity of the night sky in all observable wavelengths, from the shortest down to the longest? Are there estimations/approximations anywhere of average luminosity plotted against wavelength? Are there links to papers that...
  43. A

    Finding Solar Path Data - Resources for Sun Position in Sky

    Hello, does anyone know of any good resources for solar path data? Like what angle in the sky the sun is at for different parts of the year. Thanks, AL
  44. S

    CMB, Sky Surveys, & Computational Cosmology

    Recently, several groups have endeavored to experimentally map the large-scale structure of the Universe with the Sloan Survey being the most ambitious. At the same time, we've been able to map the cosmic microwave background to 10^-6 degrees. I believe these two maps agree but I'm confused...
  45. M

    Why Does an Arrow Shot Upward Experience Negative Acceleration?

    Ok, I'm trying to help my son with this test question he got wrong. He is in a basic high school physics class and I have virtually no experience with physics. The book and classroom handouts have nothing that completely explains this question. Any help and explanation would be most...
  46. G

    Sky divers air resistance balances with their weight

    When a car is travlling at constant speed, we say that the forward force is equal to the frictional force. How is that possible? Shouldnt the car be stationary? Samething with sky divers, when the air resistance balances with their weight, how is it possible that they still move downwards...
  47. wasteofo2

    Why is the sky blue yet the light that reaches the earth white?

    I've never been able to get an answer as to why is the sky blue yet the light that reaches the Earth white. I've been told that the Nitrogen in the Earth's atmosphere refracts the white light coming from the sun in a way that makes blue more visible. That's fine, however, what I can't...
  48. O

    Sky Shade Shift: Does Color Change at Latitudes & Altitudes?

    I'm not sure which sub-forums this should go in... Does the shade of blue that the sky appears to be change at all at differing lattitudes on Earth? What about different altitudes? If so, how much? Any links to specific info? Thanks for any input you have.
  49. F

    Physics element in october sky

    physics element in "october sky" hi, my physics teacher gave us a project, we watched "October Sky" in class, and the teacher wants us to do a two page report on the "physics element" of october sky, one of the most prominent moment with the most physics presented is when Homer trys to prove to...
  50. C

    Black Sky: Space Ship One documentary on Science Channel

    Science Channel showed last night a documentary called "Black Sky" that was a 2 hour behind the scenes look at the operations at Scaled Composities and a short history of Burt Rutan. They have footage of the construction of the carrier plane White Knight and the test flights of Space Ship One...
Back
Top