WHY DOES THE SKY ON EARTH LOOK BLUE?
The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering.
As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through.
Little
of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air. However,
much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules.
The
absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets
scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this
scattered blue light reaches you.
Since
you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue. As
you look closer to the horizon, the sky appears much paler in color.
To reach you, the scattered blue light must pass through more air. Some of it gets scattered away again in other directions.
Less blue light reaches your eyes.The color of the sky near the horizon appears paler or white.
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