What Causes a Sunset to Happen?

Sunsets are like a light show in the sky! When the sun gets low, its light has to travel through more air. That makes it look red or orange, just like when you shine a flashlight through a thick fog, it looks dimmer and maybe even redder.

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Examples

When you turn on a lamp in a foggy room, the light looks dimmer and redder, just like a sunset!
A red apple appears even more red when it’s behind a curtain, the same idea applies to sunsets.
Imagine walking through a thick forest: the farther away the light source is, the more scattered it seems.

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Categories: Science · optics,light,atmosphere