ATLANTA — We've all watched a nice sunset or sunrise at some point in our lives. The different colors stream across the sky, and the sun gets a red tint as it approaches the horizon. So, why does this happen, and why doesn't this red color show up when the sun is high overhead?
When the sun is overhead, light has less atmosphere to pass through, which means less light can be scattered by the air and dust particles that are always around us.
When the sun or even the moon gets closer to the horizon, light has to pass through more atmosphere, which means more air and dust particles that can scatter the light.
Blue and violet light are known to have shorter wavelengths compared to red light and can be scattered more easily. This allows for red light to be seen by us.
So, when the sun and moon are directly overhead, they may appear white due to the smaller portion of the atmosphere the light passes through. When light passes through a larger portion of the atmosphere, you get more yellow, orange and red colors to appear as the light is scattered.
Enjoy those north Georgia sunsets, and now you know what makes them so beautiful.