Why Sun Appears Red During Sunrise and Sunset?

The Sun looks red when it comes up or goes down because light travels through more air at those times.

Imagine you’re drinking a cup of hot chocolate on a cold morning. The steam from your cup starts to fade as it moves away from the cup, the farther it goes, the less visible it becomes. Something similar happens with sunlight.

During sunrise or sunset, the Sun is low in the sky, so its light has to travel through a lot more air before it reaches you. Think of it like walking through a crowd, the more people you pass, the harder it is to be seen clearly.

Air has tiny bits in it called particles. These particles make some colors of light fade faster than others. The blue and green parts of sunlight get scattered away by these particles, leaving the red and orange parts to reach your eyes.

That’s why the Sun looks red or orange, it's like the sky is filtering out some colors and letting others through. It's similar to looking at a fire through a window, you see more red and orange, just like during sunrise or sunset.

So next time you see the Sun changing color in the morning or evening, you’ll know it’s not magic, it’s light traveling through air!