why is the sky blue?

Answer 1

The sun's rays hit the Earth's atmosphere, where the light is scattered by nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the air. The blue wavelength of this light is affected more than the red and green wavelengths, causing the surrounding air to appear blue. At sunset, the sun's light passes farther through the atmosphere, deflecting and decreasing the blue in the air. Scattering by dust particles and pollution in the air causes the sunset to appear red.

Why do people who don't have a clue answer questions?

Answer 2

Here is something interesting to think about: When you look at the sky at night, it is black, with the stars and the moon forming points of light on that black background. So why is it that, during the day, the sky does not remain black with the sun acting as another point of light? Why does the daytime sky turn a bright blue and the stars disappear?

The first thing to recognize is that the sun is an extremely bright source of light -- much brighter than the moon. The second thing to recognize is that the atoms of nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere have an effect on the sunlight that passes through them.

There is a physical phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering that causes light to scatter when it passes through particles that have a diameter one-tenth that of the wavelength (color) of the light. Sunlight is made up of all different colors of light, but because of the elements in the atmosphere the color blue is scattered much more efficiently than the other colors.

So when you look at the sky on a clear day, you can see the sun as a bright disk. The blueness you see everywhere else is all of the atoms in the atmosphere scattering blue light toward you. (Because red light, yellow light, green light and the other colors aren't scattered nearly as well, you see the sky as blue.)

Answer 3

The sky is blue as a result of the effect of the atmosphere upon light.

Light as emitted from the sun consists of all the colours of the spectrum (all the colours of the rainbow combined) All of these colours travel at their own particular wavelength. When this hits the atmosphere the different wavelengths are dispersed by the particles in the atmosphere causing the light to be scattered. The 'blue' wavelength is the one less effected by this so more 'blue' light travels directly though the atmosphere than any other colour. This makes the sky blue.

Answer 4

Blue light is more energetic than other colors in the spectrum.

As light enters the atmosphere it gets scattered open striking molecules of gases in the air. The blue light having more energy scatters much more then the other colors .
And as a result the sky appears blue, because the blue light is coming at you from all angles (the reds and less energetic colors also get absorbed more readily in the upper atmosphere).

Answer 5

Light from the sun is almost pure white. The gases in the atmosphere refract the blue light, scattering it. This is why the sky looks blue and the sun looks yellow (white light with blue filtered out).

Answer 6

Because of the sun, the sky is truly black because of the atmosphere, but the sun sheds light on it and in a less complicated story it turns to blue!

Answer 7

The layer's of the atmosphere cause the sky to look blue.

Answer 8

2/3 of the earth is water......the sky is like a spectrum. light is refreacted and bent and makes color.....its reflected off of the water. Thats why it is blue. Dont believe me...go to the beach at night and see if the water is still blue.......you will see the water turns black....black is the void of color...all of the colors mixed together.

Answer 9

because blue light has a higher frequency, so it scatters easier in the atmosphere spreading its light throughout the sky

dont listen to bunnicula

its not because it reflects off the ocean

Answer 10

Because the light from the sun reflects off of the ocean. That's the scientific answer....however....i like to think it's blue simply becuase God wants it to be.