The sky is blue during the day because the sunlight bounces around in the air, and blue light bounces more than other colors. At night, there's no sun to bounce off, so it looks black.
Think of a big ball (the sun) throwing tiny balls (light rays) into the air. The air is full of tiny bits (molecules), and when the light hits them, they scatter, like when you throw a ball into a room with lots of little pieces bouncing around. Blue light scatters more than red or yellow, so it fills up the sky from all sides, making everything look blue.
At night, there’s no sun to send out those tiny balls anymore, so there's nothing to scatter, just darkness above you.
Examples
- When you look up during the day, it feels like blue paint has been spilled across the sky, that's Rayleigh scattering at work.
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See also
- Why Is the Sky Blue?
- Why Is The Sky Blue In The Day And Black At Night?
- What Makes the Sky Change Colors at Sunrise and Sunset?
- Why Does the Sky Appear Blue on a Clear Day?
- Why Do We See Different Colors in the Same Sky?