Random Marine Fact: the Color of the Sky
The blue color of the sky is caused as light particles from the sun enter the atmosphere and collide with the dry gases and particles present in the air. Blue light is scattered the most because blue light travels in shorter, smaller waves; which is also why most of the time the sky is blue. The reason why light on the edge of the horizon is paler blue or even white is because the particles must travel further through the atmosphere and therefore scatter more times. The brilliant colors seen at sunset are also the result of particles in the air; as the sun sinks lower in the horizon the particles must travel an even greater distance through the atmosphere, scattering most of their blue light away and leaving just the reds and yellows visible to the bare eye. The presence of more particles in the air can also scatter more blue light and increase the intensity of red and yellow light at sunset- which is why areas suffering under wildfire smoke may also see fantastic red sunsets each night.
Fact for 2025/02/10. Old facts will be archived in the ship knowledge section.
