• Question: Why is the sky blue, if space is Black ?

    Asked by fostk004 to Fiona, Jane, Joanna, Michelle, William on 15 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Fiona Randall

      Fiona Randall answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      That is a great question. I must admit I had to look this up as I’d forgotten the answer from long ago. So, white light which is what the sun shines is made up of a spectrum of colours (you see them when you see a rainbow-that is the scattering of the different components that make white light). When the light comes from the sun to the Earth it passes through the atmosphere, which is made up of gases and dust particles and stuff. When the white light hits the particles it is scattered. Most is reflected but blue light that passes through is what you see.
      There is a really good description on this website http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html

    • Photo: Michelle Murphy

      Michelle Murphy answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      As with all colours it depends on how light is reflected and what the light bounces of in the atmosphere before it gets to us water vapour for example.

    • Photo: Joanna Brooks

      Joanna Brooks answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Good question. This is because of the atmosphere of the earth. As the light from the sun hits the atmosphere different wavelengths of light travel through the atmosphere in different ways – some get absorbed and some get scattered. As a result the sky appears blue because of the way that the scattering and absorption happens.

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