Book 7, Question 101
Why Is the Daytime Sky Blue?
The daytime sky is blue because air scatters blue light more than other colors. Sunlight looks white, but it is really a mix of all the rainbow colors. Blue light gets bounced around the sky in every direction, and that paints the sky blue!
More fun facts
- Near the horizon, the sky fades to a lighter blue or white, because that light has passed through even more air.
- Violet light scatters even more than blue, but most of it scatters very high in the atmosphere, where we don't notice it.
- The Sun gives off white light that holds all the colors of the rainbow in roughly equal amounts.
- Special cone-shaped cells in your eyes are tuned to see the colors of visible light.
- A cloud with no direct sunlight on it can reflect the color of the sky and look bluish.
Sources: NASA Space Place, NOAA, NASA Science, NASA Science
Questions kids ask
Why is the sky paler near the horizon?
Light from low in the sky passes through more air, so it looks lighter blue or white.
Why isn't the sky violet?
Violet light scatters very high up, so blue is what we mostly notice.