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…
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…
When sunlight reaches Earth’s atmosphere, it bounces off of molecules. The air molecules scatter light — just like billiard balls do when they collide. The shorter the wavelength of the light, the more it gets scattered. This is why the sun’s light looks blue. Sky Blue Is Due to Rayleigh Scattering Sky blue is a…
