What Causes the ‘Glow’ of the Sun at Sunset?

The sun looks like it's glowing at sunset because the sunlight has to travel through more of Earth’s atmosphere. When the sun is low on the horizon, its light passes through a lot of air before it reaches us. This makes the light spread out and look more colorful, like fire! The reds, oranges, and pinks you see are all different colors hiding inside the sunlight.

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Examples

The sunset looks like it’s on fire because the air is acting like a filter that lets reds and oranges through.
Imagine the sun is dipping into a big bowl of water. The light has to go through more water, and the same thing happens with air.
A glowing sunset is like watching a big, warm light bulb dip below the edge of the sky.

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Categories: Physics · optics,atmosphere,light