As sunlight passes through our atmosphere it becomes scattered in all directions by gas molecules, with shorter wavelengths (blue and violet) getting scattered more than longer wavelengths (red and orange), which gives the sky its characteristic hue of blue.
At sunrise and sunset, the Sun’s light travels further through Earth’s atmosphere, scattering more red and orange light that makes the sky appear different colors.
Rayleigh Scattering
Rayleigh Scattering refers to light bouncing off tiny gas molecules in the atmosphere and producing its characteristic blue hue. As sunlight passes through this layer of molecules it is scattered or deflected, with higher-frequency colors (like blue) more strongly scattered than lower frequency colors (such as red). This process was named for 19th century British physicist Lord Rayleigh who first observed its effect.
When sunlight passes through the atmosphere it bounces off molecules made up of nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the air, reflecting off them like mirrors to scatter light in all directions. Because these smaller-than-visible-light molecules scatter or deflect it so effectively at lower frequencies or shorter wavelengths than can visible light, sunlight reaching our eyes tends to predominantly blue with limited red or violet tones.
Light passes through the atmosphere and interacts with gases and dust particles present, making the sky appear brighter but altering its color; for instance, as one moves further away from the Sun, its light becomes less blue, becoming instead more of a pale gray hue.
The blue color of the sky can also be explained by how intensely the Sun’s rays shine overhead, meaning when they reach the horizon most of their high-frequency light has already been scattered and only low-frequency remains; hence why at sunset, it seems to change from vibrant blue to a pale red hue.
Open water appears blue due to waves reflecting back a lot of blue light while absorbing much of its red and orange wavelengths, but that isn’t the sole cause; the ocean’s hue can also be attributed to chemistry; without water in it would appear black instead of its vibrant hue we see from above.
Aerosols
When sunlight strikes the Earth’s atmosphere, its waves scatter differently based on their wavelength. Shorter wavelengths like blue and violet get scattered more than longer ones like red and green because atoms and molecules in air are better at absorbing short wavelengths than long ones, producing blue sky as a result.
As sunlight travels deeper into the atmosphere, its absorption of red and orange wavelengths starts to diminish; this can be seen reflected in the color of the sky at sunset and sunrise due to Rayleigh scattering and aerosol presence.
Earth’s atmosphere is filled with trillions of tiny floating particles called aerosols. Made up of materials including sulfates, organic carbon and black carbon, these aerosols impact climate in various ways; for instance by reflecting or absorbing solar radiation or providing nuclei upon which water droplets condense to form clouds. Furthermore, aerosols influence cloud chemical processes as well as how bright or reflective they appear.
Aerosols can range in size from microscopic particles to meters-scale particles. Their sources range from natural (like volcanic eruptions) and man-made sources – for instance volcanic eruptions may emit sulfate aerosols that spread throughout oceans and land masses; wind currents carry massive plumes of dust from Sahara across Atlantic to Caribbean region; to factories producing multifaceted aerosols including both sulfates and black carbon particles.
Particles present in our environment have an adverse impact on human health. Particulate matter (which includes aerosols) is estimated to cause 7 million premature deaths annually and contributes significantly to respiratory and heart diseases, as well as changing atmospheric chemistry globally.
Aerosols may either fall to Earth’s surface or remain high in the atmosphere depending on their shape and composition, such as volcano ash particles with jagged edges versus soot particles which have round corners. Their shape also determines their interaction with other parts of the atmosphere; for instance, an aerosol composed primarily of water-absorbing particles may reduce precipitation while reflective ones could speed up raindrop formation in certain conditions.
Sunlight
As sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere, it is scattered by gases and particles, leading to blue-violet wavelengths being scattered more than red-orange ones due to our eyes’ sensitivity to blue light; our eyes perceive blue hues more readily; this phenomenon also accounts for why open water appears blue – molecules within its molecules absorb longer wavelengths while reflecting back shorter ones back into space.
If the atmosphere consisted of molecules that scatter red and orange light more than blue light, the sun might appear to rise and set in shades of purple or magenta. Indeed, sometimes such effects have been witnessed.
The Moon does not have an atmosphere to protect it from space radiation and thus does not possess a blue hue. Instead, its surface color is actually quite bright yellow; any hue around it comes from sunlight reflecting off its surface. If it were made out of materials that absorbed and scattered blue light more effectively than red or orange wavelengths then the skies around it could indeed turn bluer.
Clouds
Sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere and is scattered by all of its gases and particles, creating a blue tint in its path as blue light travels more easily through it than other colors. If there were no atmosphere, the sky would appear violet due to violet light having longer wavelengths than blue. Furthermore, its color can change throughout the day depending on whether the Sun is low or high in the sky as different times, since atmospheric pressure may reflect more or less blue light from above or below. At sunset and sunrise, the Sun is lower in the sky compared to during other parts of the day, meaning its light must travel through more atmosphere before reaching you – this increased distance causes more blue and violet light to reflect back towards you while reds and yellows pass straight through with minimal reflection.
Air is composed of invisible water vapor. As this gas cools and condenses into visible clouds, their shape, size, and shade become apparent. Clouds come in all sorts of shapes and sizes from white cotton puffs to dark grey clouds formed when water vapor in the air condenses into tiny drops of liquid water or small ice crystals which allow all wavelengths of light through or absorb or block some sunlight; when these droplets absorb sunlight we see clouds with more opaque properties forming shades of grey clouds.
Clouds can be found at various heights throughout the atmosphere, from near the ground up to very high above it. They may appear patchy or as sheets of rounded elements and often take on vibrant hues like green. Their formation depends on absorbing or reflecting certain wavelengths of light which create their signature look.
Stratus clouds are among the most prevalent cloud types, often covering an expansive area in the sky like a thick blanket. Composed of condensed water vapor that no longer returns fully to its gaseous state, stratus clouds absorb sunlight like sponges – when this happens they appear light grey; when less light passes through they appear darker.