Why is the sky blue?

Answer 1

Air particles reflect blue light.

We see color depending on what type of light wave hits our eyes. White light is composed of all visible colors. When white light hits something, let's say a red apple, the apple absorbs all the colors in the spectrum, but reflects the red light. When we look at hte apple, that red light is hitting our eyes. That's how we see color.

As you know, there's air all around us. When the sunlight (which is white) hits the air particles at such an angle, they reflect the blue light and we see the sky as being blue.

Now, you could ask the question "Why is the sky sometimes NOT blue, but beige, red, orange, or other colors?" That would also have to do with the angle of the sun's rays on the atmosphere. Sometimes the sky can look different colors becuase of the way the light is being reflected.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

On a clear sunny day, the sky above us looks bright blue. In the evening, the sunset puts on a brilliant show of reds, pinks and oranges. Why is the sky blue? What makes the sunset red?

To answer these questions, we must learn about light, and the Earth's atmosphere.



THE ATMOSPHERE
The atmosphere is the mixture of gas molecules and other materials surrounding the earth. It is made mostly of the gases nitrogen (78%), and oxygen (21%). Argon gas and water (in the form of vapor, droplets and ice crystals) are the next most common things. There are also small amounts of other gases, plus many small solid particles, like dust, soot and ashes, pollen, and salt from the oceans.

The composition of the atmosphere varies, depending on your location, the weather, and many other things. There may be more water in the air after a rainstorm, or near the ocean. Volcanoes can put large amounts of dust particles high into the atmosphere. Pollution can add different gases or dust and soot.

The atmosphere is densest (thickest) at the bottom, near the Earth. It gradually thins out as you go higher and higher up. There is no sharp break between the atmosphere and space.

Answer 3

WHY IS THE SKY BLUE?
The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air.

However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue.







As you look closer to the horizon, the sky appears much paler in color. To reach you, the scattered blue light must pass through more air. Some of it gets scattered away again in other directions. Less blue light reaches your eyes. The color of the sky near the horizon appears paler or white.

Answer 4

The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air.

However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue.

Answer 5

The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air.

However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue.





As you look closer to the horizon, the sky appears much paler in color. To reach you, the scattered blue light must pass through more air. Some of it gets scattered away again in other directions. Less blue light reaches your eyes. The color of the sky near the horizon appears paler or white.

Answer 6

the sky is not blue everywhere. Pictures taken in outer space show the Space Shuttle against a black background. Lunar scenes portray astronauts against a black sky. The Earth, unlike the moon or space, has a protective blanket of gases, water and dust called an atmosphere. The blue color of the sky is a result of sunlight passing through and interacting with the atmosphere.

If you look at sunlight passing through a prism, you will find that white sunlight is actually composed of a rainbow of colors. As the sunlight passes through the atmosphere, the atmosphere selectively filters blue light using a process called `scattering'. Scattering of light can be simply thought of as a light wave bouncing off of the air, water and dust particles which make up the atmosphere. An example of the scattering of sunlight can be seen in a smoke filled room. When sunlight enters the room, smoke particles scatter the light, resulting in shafts of visible light. The smoke particles, however, have little effect on the color of the scattered light.

As we have mentioned in earlier columns, light comes in different `sizes' which we call wavelengths. Different colors of light have different wavelengths, with red light having a long wavelength and blue light having a short wavelength. Selective scattering (preferential scattering of one color light over the other colors) occurs when the particles are much smaller than the wavelengths of the colors. Only one color is then scattered, and the atmosphere appears to be that color. In the case of our atmosphere, shorter wavelengths (blues) are scattered much more strongly than longer wavelengths (reds). As the sunlight passes through the atmosphere, blue light preferentially scatters and becomes visible to the eye. Large scale changes in the composition of the atmosphere - such as dust particles resulting from volcanic eruptions and particulate matter from air pollution - can also change the color of the sky.

Although the atmosphere is essential for supporting life on this planet, scattering of sunlight from the particles in the atmosphere is also responsible for our unique blue sky.

Answer 7

because GOD wanted it thus!

Then God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other." And so it happened:
God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
God called the dome "the sky." Evening came, and morning followed--the second day

as you can see, God made the sky from the waters, that's why they're blue!

Answer 8

the sky is blue because air particles reflect blue light and there for we see the sky wich is made of air and air or air particles reflect blue light and so we see blue sky

Answer 9

This is because the molecules in the air scatter blue light more readily than they scatter red light.

Answer 10

actually, the sky isn't blue.