What Causes the ‘Twilight Zone’ in the Sky?

Imagine the sun as a giant ball of light. When it's high in the sky, its light travels straight through the air to reach you. But when it gets low on the horizon, like during sunrise or sunset, its light has to travel through more air. This extra air makes the blue and purple light scatter away, leaving the orange and red light to shine through. That’s why the sky turns orange in what we call the ‘twilight zone.’

Light scatters like marbles bouncing around when it goes through the atmosphere. Blue light bounces more easily than red or orange light. So during the day, blue light reaches your eyes first, that’s why the sky is usually blue. But at sunrise or sunset, red and orange light get to you because they’ve traveled farther through the air, making the sky look like it's painted with colors.

Sometimes, when there are more clouds in the sky, it can make the colors even more vivid, like a painter’s canvas!