What Causes the ‘Color’ of the Sky at Sunset?

At sunset, the sky looks colorful because light has to travel a longer path through Earth's atmosphere. When light goes through more air, blue and violet light scatter away, leaving red, orange, and pink to shine through. It’s like when you look at a glass of water, the farther the light travels, the more it changes color.

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Examples

Imagine looking through a thick glass of colored water, the farther the light goes, the more it changes color.
It's like when you look at a rainbow, longer wavelengths appear in the sky during sunset.
When the sun is low on the horizon, blue and violet are scattered out, leaving reds and oranges to shine.

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Categories: Physics · optics,light,scattering