Is it yellow because from Earth it usually looks yellow to us? Or is it white because the sun gives off all wavelengths of light (white light)? Or is it some other color?
In: Planetary Science
The colour of the sun depends on the atmospheric conditions and time of day. For example, on a clear sunny morning the sun will appear orange-red because the blue (shorter) wavelengths of the solar spectrum will scatter more, thus less of them will make it into your eye directly from the sun. If the sun is directly above you an a clear day, it will appear white/lightly-yellow, as blue, green, and red wavelengths would more or less be at similar intensity once superimposed with our eyes’ spectral response, which actually weighs heavily toward green wavelengths. All of the atmospheric conditions in between the sunrise and the sun being directly above will cause the colour of the sun to appear different at various times of the day.
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