The sky is actually an intricate mosaic of many colors depending on time of day and weather conditions, with blue being created by sunlight being scattered by particles in the atmosphere – shorter wavelengths like blue tending to be scattered more often than others such as violet.
Air molecules scatter blue light, while larger particles such as smoke from fires can alter its hue via Mie scattering, giving rise to redder skies in an effect known as Mie Scattering.
Blue
On a clear day, the sky appears light blue due to how sunlight interacts with Earth’s atmosphere. Sunlight hitting molecules scatters widely; shorter wavelengths (such as blue) get scattered more than longer ones (red). This phenomenon is called Rayleigh scattering and it gives rise to the sky appearing blue.
Tyndall and Lord Rayleigh took two centuries after Isaac Newton conducted his prism experiments to discover its mechanism, with smaller air molecules scattering light more effectively than larger ones. Today we know this to be true.
Interestingly, if blue wavelengths were less scattered by pollution in the air, then the sky would appear greenish. Instead, this doesn’t happen due to indigo and violet wavelengths stimulating our blue cones but not being as heavily scattered, creating an equilibrium where blues and greens balance each other out to make the sky seem light blue – an effect similar to why sunsets become redder and pink when pollution scatters more blue light than red.
Green
As sunlight passes through the atmosphere, it is scattered by gases and particles and appears in different directions as different wavelengths of light appear at various wavelengths. Blue light is spread the least widely, thus giving the sky its signature blue hue throughout the day.
Green skies occur due to water droplets reflecting green light more efficiently than any other color. While this phenomenon can happen any time during the day, it most frequently appears just before or around sunset.
People often believe the myth that seeing a green sky before tornadoes or severe weather is an omen. In reality, however, this belief is false as the green hue in stormy skies results from several factors coming together, such as time of day and size and shape of stormclouds.
Green skies do not directly correlate to an increased risk of tornadoes or large hailstorms, yet can still provide an unnerving sight. Residents in South Dakota took to Twitter in early July after witnessing green-tinted skies before an eerily green derecho (wind-swept tornado) passed through their state.
Yellow
Yellow skies can often be explained by dust or pollution particles in the air, which causes light rays to be refracted through layers of dust particles and scatter into different directions, distorting it in ways that give off an intense yellow hue. This phenomenon is known as refraction – usually light travels along straight paths but when it encounters objects it bends, which makes the sun and moon look squashed when seen low in the sky during sunrise or sunset.
Dust or pollution in the air can refract sunlight into an unflattering yellow hue if clouds are white in colour, creating an unpleasant glare effect.
Yellow skies can also be an indicator of an imminent thunderstorm. When airborne particles, such as smoke or dust particles, scatter blue and violet wavelengths of light while only red and yellow ones pass through, the result being that you often witness yellow skies preceding thunderstorms.
Red
Have you ever witnessed a beautiful red sunrise or sunset? These moments of natural beauty aren’t often witnessed, yet always memorable. This occurs because more sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere at these times; its light reflecting off clouds while scattering off air molecules – shorter wavelengths such as blue and violet light tend to get scattered more readily leaving only longer wavelengths such as red to reach our eyes.
This is why the sky appears blue during the daytime and occasionally turns pink or red at sunrise or sunset, as well as why dark streaks of color may appear across it at times – this is due to how light bends or refracts through Earth’s atmosphere, making certain wavelengths more noticeable than others; depending on factors like smoke, fires, pollution or dust floating in the air that obstruct its path – typically, clouds with higher water content provide vivid skies that display vibrant hues more vividly than those without clouds!
Orange
Orange is an inspiring color, and can help promote ambition and creativity. Orange also makes an effective logo choice as its striking appearance will draw people’s attention and encourage interaction with your brand. Cities plagued with heavy pollution often display spectacular sunsets that appear orange or red – an impressive sight but also an alarming reminder of our planet’s degradation.
At noontime, skies tend to appear blue due to light interacting with molecules in the atmosphere and getting scattered in all directions; longer wavelengths such as orange and red generally get scattered less and reach our eyes more directly; this phenomenon becomes particularly prominent at sunrise and sunset when sunlight travels through larger volumes of atmosphere.
Smoke from wildfires or volcanic eruptions can turn the sky orange or red due to particles being just the right size to scatter blue light away before it reaches our eyes, leaving only longer wavelengths like orange and red visible through.
Pink
Pink is created when sun-light is passed through Earth’s atmosphere, where shorter violet and blue wavelengths are scattered out, leaving behind longer yellow, orange and red wavelengths which appear as pink – this phenomenon causes sunset and sunrise skies to turn pink due to more sun passing through more atmosphere at these times.
Common wisdom says that seeing a pink sky portends good weather. This is due to high atmospheric pressure which, typically, indicates promising weather.
Pink skies may also signal that your relationship is going through some rough waters, since pink symbolizes romance and new beginnings. If your romance feels stagnant, seeing a pink sky could be a signal that it’s time for change! So go out dating again or plan a romantic vacation!
Gray
The color of the sky depends on sunlight reflecting off of objects in its path and scattering through the atmosphere, with blue light waves being scattered more than other wavelengths, producing various hues such as violet, indigo, yellow, orange, red and deep purple – when combined together these hues result in white.
Water vapor in the air condenses into mist, clouds and fog (aerosols) when it reaches its dew point, allowing sunlight to pass through them freely; thick clouds may block this light and appear gray instead.
As clouds become denser, they also absorb more light rather than reflect it back out, becoming darker gray in appearance and eventually even black if their density becomes extreme.
Near sunrise and sunset, clouds may exhibit striking yellow, orange, or red colors due to Rayleigh and Mie scattering processes wherein particle size of clouds or their particles correspond with wavelength of radiation emitted by stars or planets; Rayleigh scattering favours blue wavelengths while Mie scattering equally favors all remaining hues of color.
White
Why does the sky appear white on cloudy or rainy days?
As sunlight enters Earth’s atmosphere, its light dissipates into all directions. Shorter wavelengths (such as blue and violet light rays ) tend to scatter more easily due to hitting molecules at lower energy or frequency levels in the atmosphere; longer wavelengths such as red, yellow and green adhere together, giving the sky its characteristic “whitish-grey” tint.
Scientists took some time to realize that it was small nitrogen and oxygen particles in the air (known as Rayleigh scattering) which contributed to making the sky blue. Only after Mount Pinatubo’s 1991 eruption did scientists recognize that larger particles, like smoke, water vapor and dust ( known as aerosols ) also scatter light, creating white skies.
Water droplets and ice crystals in clouds are larger than the gas molecules responsible for scattering light, so they can evenly scatter all wavelengths of light equally, giving the sky its characteristic whitish-grey hue. But as clouds thicken further, their bottoms become darker because they cannot disperse as much light through scattering mechanisms.