why is the sky blue quizlet

A new study suggests that the sky is blue because of a combination of factors. The molecules in Earth’s atmosphere scatter light from the sun, and they are more likely to scatter short-wavelengths like violet or indigo than long ones like orange or yellow. This means that when sunlight passes through our atmosphere it appears to us as blue!

The sky is blue because of a combination of factors. The molecules in Earth’s atmosphere scatter light from the sun, and they are more likely to scatter short-wavelengths like violet or indigo than long ones like orange or yellow. This means that when sunlight passes through our atmosphere it appears to us as blue!

A few other reasons why the sky looks blue include: -According to NASA “the Sun emits nearly all its energy at wavelengths between about 0.35 micrometers (invisible ultraviolet) and 0.75 micrometers” which includes most of the colors on the spectrum we see except for shades of red and purple

-Some gases, such as nitrogen dioxide have an absorption peak near this range

* Why is the sky blue? * The Earth’s atmosphere filters out most of the sun’s short-wave radiation. This leaves only light in the visible spectrum, which makes it look bluish white to our eyes.

When a ray of light enters the earth’s atmosphere, several things happen:

This means that some parts of each wave are traveling faster than others; so we see different wavelengths reflected up into space at different angles and colors as they’re bent by this process called refraction or scattering. When sunlight passes through air molecules such as nitrogen and oxygen, these particles scatter shorter waves like red more easily because their smaller size allows them to free themselves from gravity easier.” (source)

“The main cause of the scattering is caused by water molecules, air molecules and other atmospheric particles. The blue color comes from a process called Rayleigh scattering in which light waves scatter in all directions due to small fluctuations in our atmosphere that occur when sun rays bounce off these smaller particles.” (source)

The sky appears “blue” because there are more short-wave photons than long-wave ones.

This means that some parts of each wave are traveling faster than others; so we see different wavelengths reflected up into space at different angles and colors as they’re bent by this process called refraction or scattering. When sunlight passes through air molecules such as nitrogen and oxygen, these particles scatter shorter waves like red more easily because their smaller size allows them to disperse in more directions than the larger waves like blue which are scattered less.

The shorter wave length means a higher frequency and this is why we see reds, oranges, yellows, greens as well as blues during sunrise and sunset when sunlight changes color frequencies from high to low-frequency infrared (red) light before it’s able to penetrate Earth’s atmosphere. When the sun sets all wavelengths merge into one continuous purple hue because they’ve lost their signature colors by following different paths of refraction through our planet’s air molecules that scatter them at slightly different angles until they’re almost indistinguishable.”

(source) “Blue” sky comes about from Rayleigh scattering where short-wave photons bounce off small particles found in our atmosphere such as dust, water vapor or ozone. This causes the sky to appear bluish because it’s dominated by shorter wavelengths than other colors; we see this color in sunlight scattered through our atmosphere when there is more of it and less red light from the sun shining on us – as at sunrise and sunset.”

(source) “In order for an object to scatter blue, most objects contain some amount of small particles like air molecules that are different sizes. Some have a higher surface area-to-volume ratio then others which allow them to absorb all wavelengths while scattering just one specific wavelength (blue). When observing these types of particles, they will always scatter blue due to its short wave length.”

(source) “When a particle scatters sunlight, the color of that light changes. The particles in the atmosphere scatter blue wavelengths more than other colors.”

“The sky is blue because it reflects an abundance of short-wavelength visible light from the sun and we see this color when there is less red light present – as at sunrise or sunset.”

(source) “A white paper found on NASA’s website states that “the scattering of air molecules causes different wavelengths to be reflected here and there”. When these wavelengths are scattered by water droplets, they reflect back just one specific wavelength (blue).”

“When a particle scatters sunlight, the color of that light changes. The particles in the atmosphere scatter blue wavelengths more than other colors.”

(source) “A white paper found on NASA’s website states that “the scattering of air molecules causes different wavelengths to be reflected here and there”. When these wavelengths are scattered by water droplets, they reflect back just one specific wavelength (blue).”

(details) “The sky is blue because it reflects an abundance of short-wavelength visible light from the sun and we see this color when there is less red light present – as at sunrise or sunset.” (#11). Air contains many kinds of tiny solid particles which come in all sorts of sizes. These particles cause different wavelengths of light to scatter in different ways.

“This scattering, called Rayleigh scattering happens only for shorter wavelengths like violet or bluish colors (400-500 nm), but not for longer ones such as orange, yellow, gold colors (600-700 nm).”

So if you look up into the sky on a clear day with no atmosphere between you and the sun, you will see blue light because that’s all that’s coming through.

“The reason for this is simple: The Earth has an atmosphere with a lot of molecules in it which scatter short-wavelength sunlight around so we can’t always see these colors.” (#12) “What color do you think the sky looks like on Mars? Because there are no air molecules to scatter shorter wavelengths of light, they don’t have any kind of natural tinting effect and appear more or less black from our perspective!”

(details) Air contains many kinds of tiny solid particles which come in all sorts of sizes. These particles cause different wavelengths of light to scatter in different ways.

This scattering, called Rayleigh scattering, is the main reason for why the sky appears blue.

The color of light you see depends on its wavelength – as we know from our study of electromagnetic waves in chapter nine. The shorter-wavelength (bluer) photons are scattered more than longer-wavelength ones (redder), and this means that when looking at a distant object like the sun or clouds, many short-wavens can be seen while red ones will only make it through a few distances before getting absorbed by particles along their way to your eye.”

“It also turns out that there’s an even simpler explanation reaising another question: Why does anything look blue?” (#13) “That’s because if they don’t have blue wavelengths to start with, they can’t scatter them. You’ve probably seen a blue light shining through red cellophane: the only thing that you’ll see is bluish-white light.” “This effect does not happen when looking at something like grass because while it has green and yellow photons of different lengths, one color dominates so much over the others that no matter where you are in relation to it there’s always enough shorter ones around for their scattering to create an even mix of colors.” Conclusion: Blue sky appears blue because its particles scatter short waves more than long waves. This creates a greater amount of short wave reaching your eye which makes these waves appear closer together on your retina – hence why they appear as blue