2006-12-26 21:15:09 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
At the moment the sky is blue, but it can be many colours depending on weather and time of day.
2006-12-26 21:23:46 · answer #1 · answered by patsy 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The sky appears blue during the day for a combination of two reasons. Before white light reaches the Earth’s surface, the light waves collide with and bounce off of the nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the atmosphere. Different frequencies of light (in other words different colors) are scattered differently. Higher frequencies (blue and purple) are more easily scattered and thus bounce around in all different directions more than lower frequencies (red or orange) do. The scattering of high frequencies alone would cause the sky to appear blue and purple, but our eyes work better at frequencies near the middle of the spectrum (yellow and green). Since the color blue is closer to yellow or green than purple is, the sky we see appears blue.
2006-12-27 08:41:20 · answer #2 · answered by Sporadic 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Given that this is an 'Astronomy and space' question I am assuming you are thinking of something bigger than the colour of the air as seen from the surface of the earth.
The colour of space is a good approximation to a black object at a temperature of about 4 kelvin but with loads of additions and subtractions from stuff in the universe like stars, dust and such like.
If the 4 kelvin bit is confusing you think of 'red' hot objects, these glow in the characteristic colour of something at about 1000K which happens to include radiation visible to the eye as red. The sun is at about 6000K which appears as white. As the temperature falls the wavelength of radiation gets longer and by 4K it is down in the radio band and can only be detected by radio receivers.
2006-12-27 17:33:49 · answer #3 · answered by m.paley 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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.
2006-12-27 06:10:36 · answer #4 · answered by zai 1 · 6⤊ 0⤋
It appears blue to us but is actually many colors. Blue light from the sun is spread the most by the air mollecules making the sky look blue. The other color of the sun don't spread as much.
2006-12-27 05:29:48 · answer #5 · answered by addict for dramatic 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the sky is black its the suns light that makes it look different colour's
2006-12-28 15:34:57 · answer #6 · answered by NIGEL R 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ALL and any colours,if your a artist!! when the street light shine up from a town its orange,and when its sunset time yellow/orange, THE SKY IS TRANSPARENT in relation to its surroundings and IMV. :-) Riky
2006-12-30 10:36:06 · answer #7 · answered by rikyandnina 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is a relationship between sunlight, the composition and density of particle matter in the atmosphere at any one time where the sunlight strikes and our eyes as they percieve it.
As for the exact proportions of each I have no idea.
2006-12-27 05:21:44 · answer #8 · answered by farshadowman 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the sky is clear its the sea that makes it blue and its the sun that colours the sea it acts like a prism!!!!
2006-12-27 05:19:10 · answer #9 · answered by Laura Ashley 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
the same colour as the ocean in the day time ,and at night time its pitch black.
2006-12-27 17:03:16 · answer #10 · answered by clare p 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋