Answer card
Why is the sky blue?
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Write a guess down before you look, and you will notice what surprises you. You can’t get it wrong.
What we know
- True: “Sunlight reaches Earth’s atmosphere and is scattered in all directions by all the gases and particles in the air.” NASA Space Place — Why is the sky blue?
- True: “Blue light is scattered more than the other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves.” NASA Space Place — Why is the sky blue?
- True: At sunset the Sun’s light “is passing through more of the atmosphere to reach you,” so more of the blue is scattered away, “allowing the reds and yellows to pass straight through to your eyes.” NASA Space Place — Why is the sky blue?
What we made simpler
“Air” here means its gases and the tiny particles floating in it.
Still open
Not much: scientists understand this one well. The next why has an answer too — guess it first.
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Then why isn’t the sky violet?
PrismForge — Light Basics and Properties →Try it
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