The sky is blue because sunlight reaching Earth’s atmosphere gets scattered. As it travels through the air, tiny oxygen and nitrogen molecules scatter light at shorter wavelengths such as blue and violet more so than red and orange wavelengths. When blue light hits gas molecules, it rebounds off them at right angles and your eyes…
If you look up, the sky appears blue due to Earth’s atmospheric gases and particles scattering blue light more than any other color, an effect known as Rayleigh Scattering. Violet light has longer wavelengths than blue light, so it doesn’t disperse as quickly, creating reddish-orange tones during sunset and sunrise. Light Scattering Why the sky…
One of the first questions children often pose to themselves about why the sky is blue is “Why does it have color?”. While this question might seem complicated at first, the answer can actually be quite straightforward and easily found online. Sky filled with air has tiny gas particles called air molecules – we know…
The sky appears blue because molecules in the atmosphere scatter light of all wavelengths; shorter-wavelength light being scattered more heavily than longer wavelengths; which explains why it appears blue during daylight hours. At sunrise or sunset, when the sun moves closer to the horizon, more blue light scatters away while more red light reaches your…
Blue skies form when violet and blue light wavelengths are scattered more effectively by oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere than longer wavelengths such as red and orange ones, which pass directly through. Rayleigh scattering is the name given to this process and it has its roots in 1871 when Lord Rayleigh first identified…
Undoubtedly, the sight of a stunning blue sky is something to marvel at; but when your 3-5 year old asks why the sky is blue, it’s essential that they receive honest responses. Our planet boasts something the moon doesn’t: air. When light passes through our atmosphere it scatters, with blue wavelengths dispersing more widely than…
Many people assume that the ocean looks blue because it reflects blue light from the sky; this assumption is incorrect, though there are instances in which some blue light does reflect from it. The ocean’s hue is determined by absorbing red, orange and yellow light while reflecting back shorter wavelengths as blue – although in…
White light contains all of the colors of the rainbow, yet appears blue due to atmospheric scattering of its wavelengths. This phenomenon also accounts for why sunsets and sunrises tend to look red as longer wavelengths travel further through our atmosphere before reaching our eyes. The Sun’s Light An astounding blue sky is truly spectacular…
Children often ask why the sky is blue, making it one of the most challenging questions to answer without sounding too technical or scientific. Answer lies within how light travels through our atmosphere. When sunlight enters Earth’s atmosphere, its beams get scattered by gas molecules; longer wavelengths, such as red and orange hues pass more…
