What Causes the Color of the Sky to Change?

The sky changes color because of sunlight and the air we breathe. During the day, sunlight travels straight through the air and makes the sky look blue. When the sun is low in the sky at sunrise or sunset, its light has to travel farther through the air, making it look red or orange. At night, there’s no sun, so the sky looks dark.

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Examples

When you look at the sky during a sunrise, it looks orange because of the sun’s position.
The blue sky is like having a giant watercolor painted in the sky every day.
At night, when there are no clouds or lights, the sky becomes black.

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Categories: Physics · light,scattering,atmosphere,optics