What Color Is Your Sunset?
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“Do you know that the more colorful your sunset is, the more polluted is the atmosphere?” That was what our physics teacher once told us. Well, how true is this? Stay on, and you will find out.
Of Light Waves and other Stories
Visible light occurs as waves with varying wavelengths. Red has the longest wavelength while violet has the shortest. All the other colors of the rainbow have intermediate wavelengths between red and violet. When all the wavelengths are seen together, light appears as white.
When white light enters a prism, it becomes separated into its individual waves which we see as the colors of the rainbow. Water droplets in the atmosphere also act like a prism and that’s why we see a rainbow in the sky when the atmosphere is filled with water vapor.
Of Sunlight, Sunsets, and Colors
The sun is the source of these light waves. The color of objects that we see around us is the color of the light waves that are reflected by the object. All the other colors are absorbed by the object. Thus the green color of a leaf is the reflected green wave from the leaf surface.
The different light waves plus the composition of our atmosphere explains why the sky is blue during daytime but orange-red at sunset.
a) Why is the Sky Blue?
When the sun is high up in the sky, its light travels only a short distance through the atmosphere before it reaches our eyes. Thus we see white light, the sum of all light waves.
Since our atmosphere consists mostly of nitrogen and oxygen molecules, these molecules absorb and scatter the light waves selectively through the principle of Rayleigh scattering . What does this mean?
Well, simply, nitrogen and oxygen molecules are smaller than most of the light wavelengths except for the blues and violets which have the shortest wavelengths. When the blue and violet wavelengths bump into these nitrogen and oxygen molecules, they are absorbed and then scattered in different directions by these molecules. These scattered blue and violet give the blue color to the sky.
If that is so, shouldn’t the sky be more violet than blue then, since violet is the shortest wavelength and therefore the one most affected by this scattering effect? Well, it could be so except for the fact that we see blue better than violet because of the nature of the color receptors in our eyes. Our color receptors are most sensitive to the wavelengths red, green and blue or RGB.
By the way, “Rayleigh scattering” is named after Lord John Rayleigh, an English physicist, who first described it in the 1870's.
Ok now, so that explains why the sky is blue. What about the color of sunsets?
b) Why do we have Fiery Sunsets?
During sunsets and sunrises (for that matter), the sun is low in the horizon and thus light travels through a longer distance of atmosphere. The same Rayleigh scattering occurs, but since so much scattering of the shorter wavelengths has already occurred by the time light reaches our eyes; only the reds, oranges and yellows or the longer wavelengths remain for us to see. Thus, our sunsets and sunrises are yellow-orange-red.
In general, sunset colors are more intense than sunrise colors. Why so? Well, because there are more dust particles in the atmosphere in the afternoon than early in the morning. At night, most dust particles settle down, so the atmosphere is clearer in the morning except of course if there are some night fires around.
So it’s true then that more pollution contributes to more colourful sunsets? Oh, no, no no... not so fast on that. This is actually where some confusion sets in.
c) Pollution Does Not Make For Colorful Sunsets
Air pollution a.k.a smog adds particles to the atmosphere. Yes, that’s true. However, we have to differentiate smog (or smoke + fog) produced by volcanic explosion and some forest fires, from smog caused by emissions from factories, vehicles, burning of plastics, and other unnatural materials.
While volcanic explosions release particles of the same size into the atmosphere and indeed contribute to more colourful sunsets as what happened when Pinatubo erupted several years ago, man-made pollutant particles are of totally different sizes. Particles from CFCs, car exhaust, factory emissions, etc. come in various sizes. Size of particles affects the colors produced during sunsets.
Ashes from volcanic eruptions are big enough to scatter not just the blue and violet wavelengths but also the longer yellows as well. Thus, what remains in the sky and what reaches our eyes are the fiery oranges and reds. Particles from various man-made pollutants on the other hand are of different sizes; some big, some small. What happens here is a totally different kind of scattering and not the selective Rayleigh scattering we encountered earlier. The keyword here is “selective” scattering.
When there are particles of various sizes in the atmosphere, scattering of light becomes indiscriminate. Let me repeat, “indiscriminate”! Smaller particles will scatter the shorter wavelengths while bigger particles will scatter the longer wavelengths.
So what color remains in the sky after all this scattering? Nothing! Nothing remains but a hazy, grayish, dull color ... a sunset with no colors! Can you imagine that? This is what happens when there is too much particles (of the pollutant kind) in the atmosphere.
Just think about it, if pollution creates colourful sunsets, then we should experience the most colourful sunsets in the most polluted cities, right? But from experience, we see the most colourful and fiery sunsets in the least polluted areas especially near bodies of water.
Colorful or Colorless Sunsets?
So my dear physics teacher, I have to make a qualification; pollution does not make colorful sunsets; rather, it’s particles of a certain kind that make colorful sunsets. I think you just wanted to be dramatic then.
Pollution makes colorless sunsets not colorful ones!
So, what color is your sunset?
Sunset and Thais's Meditation
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What a wonderful Hub. Great writing and research.
Here here! Shalini says it all..you are indeed the Countess of Color. I always thought pollution made for better sunsets. Duh!! I do have to say that we have some spectacular ones in Atlanta (especially in Autumn) and I think we're pretty polluted. Maybe not :D
I have to add that one of my favorite TV shows is Sunrise Earth on Discovery's HD Theater!
Love Sunrise Earth!
Hi Shalini - Wow, thank you very much! You are the first one to call me that. That makes me blush! However, I'm really no countess, but I do love color.
Thank you for being the first to comment. And what a comment!
Hello suziecat -Thank you!Thank you for being so nice!
Hi Green Lotus - that was what I thought too because of what my college teacher said. That really stuck in my mind. That only changed when I started reading more about sunsets after I got interested in photography.
There are indeed certain days that you also get some spectacular sunsets even in polluted areas. These are the days when there is less pollution in the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, we have no Sunrise Earth on tv here. I would surely enjoy that. I actually love sunrise even better than sunset.
Thanks very much for the visit and lovely comment! Between you and Shalini, I'll aim to be the Queen! Ha ha ha.
Wow excellent hub jill! You explained this just for me didn't you? LOL! Really well researched and written - a pleasure to read! :D
Hi again suziecat - thanks for coming back and telling me about Sunrise Earth. As I told Green Lotus, it is unfortunate we don't have that here on tv. I surely would love to watch it.
Anyway, I'm going to Boracay today and will surely catch a few beautiful sunrises (and sunsets) first hand.
I'll be back in a few days.
A really nice hub ,I'm into photography as well . I've only just started mine. I hope to see some sunrises and sunsets soon.
jill - fantastic . .beautiful and mesmerizing. I have bookmarked this one. I especially love the video you put on here. . I can watch it over and over. . bookmarked and rated way UP!! thanks for sharing this. You have taken a dark and bleak day and replaced it with beautiful sunshine :)
Wow, you make science so interesting. I learned so much from your hub--now, I know that the color of the sky is a reflection of light rays and the components of the atmosphere. Right, teacher? As usual, your pictures are truly amazing.
Jill of alltrades, Wonderful informative hub! Great illustrations as well! Beautiful~ Thank you for sharing, Blessings!
I learned something very intersting today!!!! Great hub, Jill!
Jill,
As always you have produced excellence. I like the title Countess of Color. It suits you. Your love of color just reflects all over the place in your hubs. Blessings, sister
So glad that you did the research on this, never seemed true to me that pollution was the cause for beautiful sunsets. Sunsets are one of my favorite things, nothing like a beautiful sunset to bring joy to my heart.
Hi, Jill, Just wanted to add my praise and admiration of this hub.
This is for everybody - I just got back late last night from my visit to my favorite island, Boracay. I have two hubs about this beautiful island in case you are interested.
Anyway, I just wish to thank everyone who dropped by while I was away. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Hi Enelle - It's nice to see you!
Thank you very much for your heartwarming comment. I really appreciate it! I love it actually!
All the best!
Hello Simon - It's great to know another photographer here! I'd love to see your photos too.
Thank you for your visit and wonderful comment!
Hi wavegirl - It's nice to see you again!
Wow, I feel so overwhelmed yet humbled by your comment! You just made my day complete with your wonderful words.
Thank you very much!
Hi anglnwu - I always welcome your visit. You say the nicest things. You always make me feel good about my hubs.
Did I really sound like a teacher? I didn't want to lecture but I know you meant that in a very positive way.
Thank you very much!
Hello DeBorrah - You are very welcome! Thank you too very much! You always bring a smile to my face with your comments!
Blessings too!
Hi Ann - That's good to know! Thank you very much for your very positive response.
Hello Coffeesnob - Your words never fail to warm my heart. Thank you very much!
Oh, you are another one, just like Shalini and Green Lotus. Now I feel like a rainbow! Ha ha ha!
Blessings to you too, dear friend!
Hi mmichele - Thank you very much for your visit and wonderful response.
I never tire of looking at sunsets/sunrises myself. They always remind me of the wonders of God's creations.
Hope to see you again!
All the best!
Hello D.A.L. - great to see you here!
Thank you very much for dropping by and leaving a heart-warming comment!
All the best!
What a truly fantastic hub, you held my interest from start to finish. You have done an excellent job researching and writing. If science could have been this interesting in school we all could have been A students.
I was under the same misconception regarding the color of the sunset and pollution. So glad you have cleared this one up. The Sunset and Thais's Meditation was a nice added bonus.
Great Job!
Sage
Hello Sage - what a wonderful thing to say! You just made my day with your generous words! Thank you very much!
That misconception about sunset colors has been handed down through probably generations of students. If I did not get interested in photography and researched more about sunsets, I probably would still have the same idea.
Again, thank you very much for your visit and wonderful response.
Jill I know that beach is around your neighborhood and all I can say is from the photos I just wanna hang around there full time !San Diego has nice sunsets to ,but those are awesome. I will buy the beers ! :)
Hi Tony - it's great to see you, my friend! Yes, the beach is simply great for just hanging around. That's what most people do. I just came from there and got more sunset pictures!
You know what, there is a place beside the beach in Boracay where they serve subzero beer. Have you ever tried that? It's beer perfectly chilled to just before it crystallizes. Many swear that this is the best beer ever. I don't really know because I am no beer drinker, but I can believe them because they usually don't want to leave the place. Sometimes some of them just sleep on the beach with beer in hand! Ha ha ha! You can just buy me shakes. The shakes place is just beside the beer place!
jill you gotta deal ! I am a big fan of shakes myself.
Jill, How easy it is to appreciate colorful sunsets (and sunrises) and forget how and why they happen. You've taught this lesson exceptionally well! The photos are gorgeous! Thank you for a enlightening lesson. :D
Tony - thanks for coming back! You're on!
Hi Beth - Thanks for dropping by and leaving a wonderful comment! You are making me very happy.
The pleasure is really mine but you are very welcome!
All the best!
Wonderful. Your explanation is clear and simple, but the pictures, oh, they are really wonderful. Rated and stumbled.
Very well done jill. And bookmarked.
Hi hypnodude - sorry for the late reply. Been busy the past few days.
Anyway, thanking you for your wonderful comment is never too late (I hope!).
Thank you too for the rate up and the stumble. You are very nice!
Thanks for taking the time out to explain the science behind sunsets. And you've explained it simply and precisely. Two thumbs up for this hub! :D
Hi Cris - great to see you once again!
Thank you very much for your positive response. Coming from you, that's really heartwarming!
You are very welcome! I hope I did not come out too "schoolmarmish" in my explanation.
Thanks again!
I can always count on your hubs to contain the most beautiful of photos and this time you intermixed the science of beautiful sunsets with the stunning pictures. I agree with the others who have said that you are the Countess of Color...but I promote you to QUEEN!
Oh Peggy,
You are making me blush with your kind words! You say the nicest things.
Now that you have promoted me to 'queen' I feel like 'commanding', "off with their heads" (as in Queen of Hearts in Alice) to those who don't like sunsets/sunrises. Ha ha ha!
Thanks very much for the visit and heart-warming comment Peggy!
I thoroughly enjoyed this Hub. It is educational but of course, filled with your gorgeous photographs that always make me smile. Thank you!
I love sunsets and sunrise, and moonlight nights, too, for their awesome colors. This is a very interesting hub about my favorites. Love it. Thank you for your scientific explanations here.
Hello James,
Great to see you again!
Thank you very much for your visit and kind words. They make me smile too!
You are most welcome!
Hi Lita,
It's good to see you here!
I'm happy to know that you also love sunsets/sunrises/moonlight. They are really amazing, aren't they?
It's good to know that you learned something from this hub. You are most welcome! I enjoyed writing this.
Thank you for your beautiful comment!
Well, my dear kaibigan...
I had to finally stop by and check you out! I am glad I did! This was an artful explanation on sunsets! Quite detailed and informative! Loved it! On to follow you!
Salamat, dear kaibigan!
warmest regards and infinite blessings,
Al
Hello Mystique - I thought you are from Venezuela? How come you know "kaibigan" and "salamat"?
Anyway, thank you for considering me as a "kaibigan". Thank you too for your generous comment. And thank you for following. I'm happy to follow too.
All the best!
Nice one; I enjoyed reading it. Thank you
Love this hub- totally learned something new and very neat!! The pictures are just gorgeous as well- makes me want to travel the world watching sunsets now ;)
Hello Coolmon - You are very welcome!
Thank you very much too for your nice comment. I'm happy that you enjoyed reading this.
Hi BobiM,
Thank you very much for your wonderful comment!
I'm happy that this hub has a positive effect on you. Most of those photos were taken from just two places. So we don't really have to travel around much to catch a beautiful sunset.
However, traveling is fun and watching sunsets from different places will even be more fun! I'd love to do that too!
Thank you very much for dropping by.
Wow, this was a great hub! Interesting:)
heart4theword - thank you very much for the visit and heartwarming comment!
God bless!
Thank you for taking on that perception (not quite a myth) that beautiful sunsets are caused by pollution. You explain the color principals so well! We have clear skies and great sunsets here almost everyday.
Hi jstankevicz - thanks very much for dropping by and leaving a wonderful comment.
Wow, you are very lucky to have great sunsets everyday!
Really interesting hub on sunsets. We're currently having very red ones due to the icelandic volcano.
Hi Georgina - thank you very much for dropping by.
I can imagine how fiery red the sunsets might be around Europe and Britain and other areas nearby. Do you live somewhere there? Wow! How I envy you for your colorful shows everyday.
Imagine that, I wrote this hub a few months ago and now we have proof of Rayleigh scattering right there. Isn't that wonderful?
Thanks again Georgina!
God bless!
very inspiring hub. Thanks for share about this. Just information to you, I have linked this hub to my hub with the same idea about "sunset". I am glad if you take a look. Nice to meet you again.
Hello prasetio - nice to see you again too!
You are very nice for linking our hubs. I will go over to your site after I post this. Then I can link back too.
Thank you very much for your visit and inspiring comment.
Although I have seen the 'regular' sunsets that you have described, one was unforgettable. It had green! After research, I discovered that green in sunsets are rare. I did not have my camera with me then; but I travel with it -everywhere- now.
Although I have seen the 'regular' sunsets that you have described, one was unforgettable. It had green! After research, I discovered that green in sunsets are rare. I did not have my camera with me then; but I travel with it -everywhere- now.
Hello aoiffe - wow! a green sunset? I've never seen one before! I hope you are able to see another one and take a picture of it. I'd love to see it.
That's also my problem - sometimes I don't have my camera with me. I want to invest in a smaller camera that I can easily put in my pocket. The one I have is rather big, so sometimes I just leave it at home.
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your experience.
A nice description of the "why's" and "wherefore's" of a sunset that even I could understand! I enjoy photographing sunsets, and have managed to turn one or two into decent paintings along the way. Your photos here were quite nice, and I liked the one that was computer-enhanced for a watercolor effect. Voted up and awesome.
Mike
Mike - Thank you very much for your wonderful comment! Coming from an accomplished artist like you, that is really something!
Thank you too for the vote up and awesome. I really appreciate it!
Hope to see you again.
God bless!
the color of my sunset can be found in the many shades, layers and offerings found in your hubs!
Hello epigramman,
Wow, then your sunsets are beautiful!
Thank you very much for dropping by and leaving a beautiful comment.
Hope to see you again!
God bless!
This is beautiful,and I have noted it that sunset looks different at different places,it looks different on a sea shore and altogether different from top of a hill,and then you have your own view point of looking at it.beautiful.
Hello suny - it's nice to see you again.
Yes, the color of sunsets really vary from place to place. For example, they have been getting highly colorful sunsets in Europe lately because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland.
Thank you very much for your kind words and visit.
See you around.
All the best!
I love these useful hubs! Thanks!
Hello solar.power,
Thanks very much for your visit and sunny comment!
I can see that color means a lot to you - and to me, too! I can't imagine my world without lots of color - sunsets here in Sonoma Valley are spectacular lots of times, also sunrises when I'm up at 5, it makes it ok to have had a sleepless night. Rainbows, bird feathers, butterflies, all the natural world is bursting with it and we are very lucky that we can enjoy it! Great, beautiful hub!
Hi Mega,
It's great to see you here! I am happy to meet another color lover. Yes, isn't everything just wonderful with color? No wonder cinema calls it "in living color". Truly everything is alive with color! Color is a celebration of life!
Thanks for the visit and colorful comment! See you around!
God bless!
Thank you for this very interesting hub.
Hello Nando,
Thank you very much!
You are most welcome! My pleasure really!
this is very cool i like the pictures and you peoples work your hard work thank you and for making this much more intresting.i like your new information
Hello Jone,
Thank you very much for the visit and wonderful comment! I am happy if you learned something new here.
Hope to see you again!
All the best!
Great info and as always, fantastic images!
Hi Rose,
Nice to see you here!
I guess we have a mutual admiration society. We admire each others images!
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a wonderful comment.
God bless you!
Hi Jill! Great hub! Did you take the pictures yourself? I love that sunset which you converted into something like a painting.
Hello TajSingh,
Thank you very much for your heartwarming comment.
Yes I took the photos myself. I am a photo enthusiast.
Thanks for your visit.
God bless!
Great hub! Learned a lot, as you explained it so well and the meditation at the end was breath taking! The photos are beyond beautiful!
Hello Fossillady,
It's nice to see you!
Thank you very much for your wonderful comment. You have made me very happy!
God bless!
Hello Jill. I am new to Hubpages as of today. My first article is still in rough draft. I fear some folks just spit it out a tad too fast. Thank you for the lovely photos and explanations. Perhaps when I do a sunset art hub thing I will make a link to this site from it.
Pen...until I post a hub, this is what I have ;)
Hello Painter,
Hubpages is a friendly community so never fear if you are new. When I first started, I was actually lost and did not know what to do. It's good that some people reached out and I slowly found my way around. Since then, I have been having fun and have met many wonderful people.
I am happy that a painter like you enjoyed this hub. Thank you very much! I would consider it an honor if you do link up your hubs with mine.
I will check out your blog after this.
Thanks for another "beauty with brains" hub i.e informative and beautiful.
Hi Almasi,
Nice to see you again!
Thank you very much for your kind words. You made me very happy.
God bless!
Awesome hub that really got me informed after reading.
Hi Sun-Girl,
Thank you very much! I'm happy that you learned something from here!
God bless!
Voted up Jill. I never knew that there was so much information involving a suncet. Truly fascinating honestly. I know here in West Virginia, we get a lot of the pink mixed into this beautiful color of sky blue with some purple. Just a great all around hub Jill. Take care.
Hello thelyricwriter,
So nice to see you again!
Thanks so much for taking time to visit and leaving a wonderful comment! Big thanks for the vote up too!
Wow, you got beautiful colored sunsets!!! I'm sure you always have a beautiful show to watch! How lucky you are!
God bless! Take care too!
Very informative hub. You definetlt did alot of research. I have to admit though I love watching the sunset. Thanks for sharing.
Hello GlstngRosePetals,
Nice to see you again! Thanks very much for your inspiring comment!
It's my pleasure to share what I know. I'm the one thanking you for visiting and reading.
Hope to see you again!
God bless!
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Shalini Kagal Level 4 Commenter 2 years ago
Jill - who better than you to explain it so well? You really are the Countess of Colour - thank you for this explanation and of course, the fabulous pictures!