Why the sky is blue?

The sky appears blue during the daytime due to a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. To understand this, let’s consider how light interacts with the Earth’s atmosphere.

Sunlight consists of a spectrum of different colors, ranging from shorter blue and green wavelengths to longer red and orange wavelengths. When sunlight reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, it encounters molecules, such as nitrogen and oxygen, as well as tiny particles and water droplets.

The molecules in the atmosphere scatter sunlight in different directions. However, the scattering is more effective for shorter wavelengths (blue and green light) compared to longer wavelengths (red and orange light). This phenomenon is known as Rayleigh scattering.

The reason shorter wavelengths are scattered more efficiently is because they interact more strongly with the molecules in the atmosphere. The shorter wavelengths of light have a smaller size and are closer in scale to the size of the molecules themselves. As a result, they are easily absorbed and re-emitted in various directions.

When we look at the sky, our eyes receive light that has been scattered by the molecules in the atmosphere. Since blue and green light are scattered more than other colors, we perceive the sky as blue during the daytime.

The scattered blue light from all parts of the sky reaches our eyes, creating a consistent blue appearance overhead. This is also why the sky may appear paler or closer to white near the horizon, as the sunlight has to pass through a larger portion of the atmosphere, resulting in more scattering and a diminished blue component.

It’s important to note that the scattering of sunlight is a complex process, and other factors like pollution, dust, and the presence of other particles in the atmosphere can affect the color of the sky. However, the primary reason for the blue color of the sky during the day is Rayleigh scattering, where shorter wavelengths of light are scattered more effectively by the molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere.