Why do sunsets and sunrises look so different? Isn’t it technically the same thing?
In: Earth Science
They might look less different than you think – sometimes one will be used for the other during filming!
Keeping it truly ELI5: the air is typically warmer in the evening than it is in the morning, which can affect how moisture and dust are suspended in the air, which affects what we see.
Sunlight can make some kinds of pollution (often from cars, which are used more during the day) react to form very fine particles in the air. These build up over the course of the day and result in more light scattering, which is why sunsets tend to be more visually impressive. During the night, these particles settle or get blown away, so the air is more clear in the morning.
ELI15: nitrogen oxides from combustion and volatile organic compounds react in the presence of sunlight to form photochemical smog, which scatters light and makes the air hazy. This can also happen with natural sources of chemicals, like terpenes from conifers in the Great Smoky Mountains, so it’s not always linked to pollution.
One difference is that a lot of smog and water vapor builds up in the sky during the day, between car exhaust, other pollution, water evaporating from day’s sun and heat… the refraction of light off all these particles in the sky is what causes the vibrant colors. The cooler air and lack of modern activity during the night means less of that stuff in the sky at sunrise.
In addition to what people are saying about the atmosphere, there’s also the movement of the earth. Due to the spin of the earth, you are moving towards the sun in the morning and away from it in the evening. When you move toward the sun, the wavelengths of light are ‘crunched.’ By bringing yourself closer, there’s less time between waves. Similarly light is ‘stretched’ in the evening because you are going away from it. This change in movement effects your interaction with the light and therefore what you see
Keep in mind that one is constantly getting brighter and the other is constantly growing dimmer/softer. It’s subtle but it’s there and is noticeable (hence the reason we watch in the first place). This is in addition to what is mentioned about particles and humidity. That’s also why it’s harder to tell the difference in photos as opposed to experiencing it in real life or seeing it on film.
DO they look different? I’ve never noticed any difference. What exactly looks different about them?
ELI5: temperature changes and differences in dust, moisture, clouds, etcetera change what we see on the ground!
Much more complex explanation: (I’m on mobile sorry for bad typing) sunsets aren’t blue because the water and nitrogen in the air cause Rayleigh scattering so most of the blue light gets filtered out and scattered (also why the sky is blue) but since the sun is low in the sky and therefore a ray of light spends more time in the atmosphere all of the blue light is stripped out. The colors we see in the sky are strictly due to more scattering of what’s left of the other colors and are due to different things like clouds and moisture and dust. Dust suspended in the sky is quite fine, so it’s actually somewhat transparent but only to certain wavelengths. Every element and combinations of elements has a well understood spectrum of what happens when light hits it. It will either absorb and in turn re-emit, reflect, transmit, or scatter. As the different types of dust and therefore a different combination of elements are in the sky as well as different moisture content, pressures, and temperatures (yes pressure and temperature do affect how light behaves) the sunset we see from the ground can be drastically different day to day and it’s also why sunrises and sunsets look different from each other. Source: I’m an optical engineer light do be my jam
The color of the sky is from a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. The simplest explanation is that the sky color is affected by the angle of the light. The way you can hold a prism in a light beam and make rainbows on the wall or other colors. Gases in our atmosphere do the same thing with light from the sun. Change the angle and you change the color. That is why you have different colors at different times of day and different times of year.
The difference is in the location. Your sunrise comes from behind the picturesque mountains to the east, while your sunset dips below neighbor Cletus’s run-down work shed.
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