Book 2, Question 140
Why Are Sunsets Orange and Pink?
Have you ever watched the sun go down and seen the sky turn orange and pink? Light takes a longer path! At sunset, sunlight travels through more air, and blue gets scattered away.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 2
More fun facts
- Clean air is the main ingredient for brightly colored sunrises and sunsets.
- Dust and haze near the ground make sunset colors paler, turning bright reds into pale yellows and pinks.
- High, thin clouds like cirrus and altocumulus most often glow scarlet, orange and red at sunset.
- When low clouds turn vivid colors, it is a clue that the air near the ground is very clean.
- In the eastern United States, fall and winter usually bring the most spectacular sunsets.
- During a lunar eclipse, the Moon turns reddish-orange. It is as if all the world's sunrises and sunsets are shining on it.
Sources: NOAA, NASA Science
Questions kids ask
Why do sunsets look even better from an airplane?
Once the plane climbs above the haze near the ground, the colors are no longer dulled, so the sky can blaze with color.