Sunsets, Another of Nature’s Fall Colors

Why do autumn sunsets seem more spectacular than at other times of year?

The Weather Channel reports that, because of its shorter wavelength, blue light is scattered easiest by nitrogen and oxygen air molecules, whereas “longer wavelengths — reds and oranges – are not scattered as much by air molecules.”

During sunrise and sunset, sunlight must pass through more of the atmosphere before we see it, TWC writes, “so it comes into contact with even more molecules in the air.”  And, “As days grow shorter, the skies at sunset glow with the most spectacular hues, blooming with pinks, reds and oranges.”

Autumn weather patterns also bring drier, cleaner air from the north, allowing more colors of the spectrum to “make it through to our eyes without getting scattered by particles in the air, producing brilliant sunsets and sunrises that can look red, orange, yellow or even pink.”

Tonight, San Bernardino Mountains color spotter Alena Nicholas found the autumn sky lit with these colors as high clouds reflected nature’s fall colors.