Question

We have seen that starlight passing through the interstellar medium is dimmed and reddened. Look at the photo of a sunset on Earth. The Sun’s light also appears reddish at sunset. Given your understanding of the reddening of starlight, why do you think sunsets appear red?

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

Reddening of sun's rays at sunset and sunrise is due to scattering of light . The white light consisting of seven colours coming from the sun are scattered in different directions when they fall on the air particles present in atmosphere . Red coloured light scatters least and it travels straight forward to the viewer on the earth . On the other hand other colours scatter most and therefore they go out of area of vision for the viewer on the earth . Since only red colour reaches the eye of the viewer , sun's ray appear red . This happens during sunrise and sunset . It is so because during this period , sun rays travel far greater distance through  atmosphere , so scattering is most pronounced .