What makes a sunset?

[the tree]

Why does a setting sun make the sky turn different colours to how it usually is?

 

My guess it that when the sunlight is reflected off the bottom of clouds, rather than shining directly at the earth, it's coming at us at a different angle so the refraction by the sky is entirely different, but, I honestly have no real idea.

[YT2095]

largely Dust particles in the air too, as the sun sets it`s at more of an oblique angle and the light must pass through much more air in order to reach the eyes.

[ecoli]

I've heard that pollution places a part in the sunset as well. It acts similiar to the dust particles

[the tree]

Of course, the more oblique angle makes a lot of sense. Does this just mean more hitting of dust particles or does the refraction that makes the sky blue (whatever it's called) happen moreso to generate even more colours?

 

I would guess that pollution makes different sunsets, but there were sunsets before pollution.

[herpguy]

I've heard that pollution places a part in the sunset as well. It acts similiar to the dust particles

 

That's what my science teacher said, but he say what he meant by pollution. Please explain.

[Sisyphus]

The colors in sunsets are caused by light scattering from the non-uniform atmosphere, which is much less noticeable during the day because the light is travelling through much less atmosphere. Red is scattered the least, and so reddish hues predominate.

 

Particles in the atmosphere obviously contribute more to the scattering, and so pollution in the form of smog and whatnot yields more colorful and varied sunsets. This is also why sunsets are generally more colorful than sunrises - daylight causes all kinds of turbulence and moisture and whatnot in the atmosphere, some of which manages to settle during the night.

[weknowthewor]

Scientific circumtencial eveidences does it all... We have to sit back and relax..

[swansont]

The colors in sunsets are caused by light scattering from the non-uniform atmosphere, which is much less noticeable during the day because the light is travelling through much less atmosphere. Red is scattered the least, and so reddish hues predominate.

 

It is noticable during the day — the sky is blue. It's not that the atmosphere is non-uniform that gives the underlying effect, it's that the atmosphere scatters light, and blue is scattered more strongly than red. More atmosphere, or more stuff in the atmosphere to scatter the light, means that you have more scattering, and that affects the degree of the coloring, which is the basis of "Red sky at night, salior's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor's warning" A red sky can indicate a high pressure system, so if your weather moves west-east, the saying gives you the location of that high and can help predict the incoming weather.

[weknowthewor]

as u know sunlight has 7 basic colours and many colours can b formed using these, viewing sun from different angles result in deflection of light causing different hues created, try out this. take 4 torches, wrap it with different color geletane paper, then try out different combinations