Why is the sunset red?

Answer 1

The red hues of the sky at sunset and sunrise are caused by the Rayleigh scattering of blue light by statistical fluctuations in the density of Earth's atmosphere. This also causes the blue diffuse sky radiation. Relatively little red light is scattered in this way, and so the sky often takes on shades of red, orange and yellow. The color of a sunset may be enhanced by atmospheric phenomena such as clouds, smoke and smog produced by natural processes or human activity, and by ash from volcanic eruptions.

Rayleigh scattering (named after Lord Rayleigh) is the scattering of light, or other electromagnetic radiation, by particles much smaller than the wavelength of the light. It occurs when light travels in transparent solids and liquids, but is most prominently seen in gases.

Answer 2

By the time the light goes through all of the atmosphere at sunset, all of the blue light (shorter wavelength) is spead out by dust in the air and only the longer red wavelengths penetrate this dust and reach your eye.

Answer 3

The earths atmosphere acts as a lens, when the sun is straight up the sky is blue, when the sun is low it has to shine through more of the atmosphere and the light appears red or orange

Answer 4

Diffuse sky radiation is solar radiation reaching the earth's surface after having been scattered from the direct solar beam by molecules or suspensoids in the atmosphere. Also called skylight, diffuse skylight, or sky radiation. Of the total light removed from the direct solar beam by scattering in the atmosphere (approximately 25 percent of the incident radiation), about two-thirds ultimately reaches the earth as diffuse sky radiation.

Scattering is the process by which small particles suspended in a medium of a different index of refraction redirect a portion of the incident radiation in all directions. In elastic scattering, no energy transformation results, only a change in the spatial distribution of the radiation. The science of optics usually uses the term to refer to the deflection of photons that occurs when they are absorbed and re-emitted by atoms or molecules.

Answer 5

Sun light is a mixture of many frequencies, called spectrum. The red part of the spectrum light has a lower frequency, longer wave-lenght, therefore it bends more passing through the atmosphere, which acts as a prism, and can reach us even when the sun is lower than our horizon.
The bending depends also on quantity of dust and other particles contained by the air. More pollution equals darker red.
At lest this is what they teached me at school!

Answer 6

The purple colour in the sky at sundown (and first gentle) is by way of an result stated as Rayleigh scattering. there's a matching type of scattering stated as Mie scattering this is in charge for the white colour of clouds. debris in our atmosphere that are approximately the comparable length because of the fact the wavelength of seen gentle reason the white gentle from the sunlight to scatter and cut up into guy or woman aspects. Oxygen and Nitrogen (the foremost aspects of our atmosphere) scatter violet and blue gentle with the aid of their small length. for this reason the sky seems to be blue in the day time, quite at midday while the sunlight is closest to us. in the time of first gentle and sundown the gap that the gentle has to holiday from the sunlight to an observer is at its splendid. this implies the a large number of blue and violet gentle has been scattered so the gentle this is recieved by way of an observer is frequently of an prolonged wavelength and hence seems to be study.

Answer 7

The sunset appears red because of the wavelength of light. Color is a function of wavelength for visible light, as well as ultraviolet and infrared light.

Answer 8

Because of the much longer distance the light has to travel through the atmosphere, as opposed to coming straight down at you. The air/water vapor filters out all but the shortest wavelength of light.

Answer 9

its all to do with the nature of the air that the suns light passes through- if the sun is low on the horizon the rays will have to travel through a great thickness of atmosphere, that in dry conditions will be heavy with dust particles that make the light appear red to our eyes.

Answer 10

Because you're seeing it through the atmosphere at a shallow angle which makes it thicker, this filters the yellow out of the sunlight, making it appear reddish.