![]() ![]() When humidity is low, aerosol particles have fewer water droplets to interact with, and they don’t interact as much with the sunlight passing through. Not only does the sun take longer to set, but the atmosphere contains less water vapor. Since the Raleigh Scattering depends on aerosols in the atmosphere, conditions that alter these fine particles will impact the sunset you see each evening.įor example, sunsets are much more intense in winter months. These conditions also affect the intensity of the colors seen. Sunsets form with different color palates each evening, and these reflect the atmospheric conditions that the sunlight must pass through to reach our eyes. Shorter wavelengths of light such as blue and violet don’t get through as much as the longer-wavelength reds and orange, which are in turn reflected and scattered more. This happens when there are more aerosols or fine particulate particles in the air to scatter and reflect the sunlight spectrum. However, unlike rainbows - which the Science Education Center of UCAR notes are caused by the refraction of sunlight in water droplets - sunset colors come from light being scattered or reflected as it passes through our atmosphere.Īccording to Earth Eclipse, the pink color comes from mixing the red part of the spectrum with additional white light. Similar to a rainbow, sunlight contains a full spectrum of colors. Due to a phenomenon known as Rayleigh Scattering, this means that primarily red, yellow and orange light - which all have longer wavelengths - will get through to light up any clouds. However, at the end of the day, the angle of the sun relative to the horizon forces its light to pass through a greater distance of atmosphere than it does when the sun is overhead. Molecules of nitrogen and oxygen in the air reflect the shorter wavelength blue and violet light more than any other color to form the familiar blue dome. As Vox notes, this is what causes the blue color of sky during the day. Light from the sun, though white in appearance, is actually made of up of all colors of the spectrum - from red, which has a longer wavelength, to shorter-wavelength colors like blue and violet.ĭuring the day, particles in the Earth’s atmosphere - such as water vapor, dust and ash, for example - mostly reflect back short-wavelength blue light from the sun’s spectrum. Sunsets are caused by scattered light waves breaking up sunlight in the atmosphere. A Scattered Approach to Creating a Sunset What causes a pink sunset, and why are sunsets different colors sometimes? It comes down to a mixture of natural and human-derived phenomena. These stunning light displays may make you wonder what exactly makes them so colorful. With their vibrant oranges, yellows and reds, they tint the clouds and light up the sky to the delight of romancing couples and photographers alike. Sunsets are very dramatic and often highly anticipated.
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