Why can you look at a sunrise or sunset for an extended period but can’t look at the sun in the middle of the sky for now than a second?

Question

Why can you look at a sunrise or sunset for an extended period but can’t look at the sun in the middle of the sky for now than a second?

In: 15

Answer 1

It’s ultimately the same reason sunsets are red instead of blue.

If you are looking straight up at the sun, you are looking through less atmosphere than if you are looking at it on the horizon. All that extra atmosphere the sunlight travels through when it’s on the horizon means more light scatters away in the atmosphere. This results in less light overall making it all the way to your eyes (and it also happens that the light that does make it will be more red than any other colour, which is why sunrises and sunsets are red).