eli5: Why do sunsets have so many colors?
In: 2
The sky is normally blue because the air in the atmosphere scatters the shortest wavelengths of light (blue). That’s why the sun looks yellow. It’s white light minus the blue.
During sunset the sunlight is coming in at a more oblique angle and so going through more air. This scatters more wavelengths of light and so you get scattering all the way down to the orange and red wavelengths.
If you want a nice surprise go to YouTube and search green flash sunset, you’ve probably seen a lot of the rm without realising
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