Eli5 why does the night sky sometime look pitch black while some time it looks like its daytime just dimmed ?
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Dust or other fine material in the air can act as a bit of a lampshade, and sunlight that might normally continue on past the Earth gets redirected in all kinds of directions, some of it coming down to the surface where our eyes are. It’s basically the same effect as a hazy day, but at night.
Weather, sun angle, ice crystals, and perhaps some other variables can affect night sky as well.
There is also light pollution to consider. If you stop in a park in the middle of a city, you might not have a light immediately near you but if you look up in the sky you can often make out a light hazy look. As with high dust clouds or ash that reflect sunlight, ground-level pollutants like tailpipe emissions or a factory’s smokestack will have the same lampshade effect. Even a sufficiently humid night can produce this, as water vapor can reflect enough light to create the sense of haze that you see.
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