Skip to main content

Main navigation
Menu















Why is the sky blue?
Clear skies above the Royal Observatory make for a fantastic view – but why is the sky blue?
It’s a common misconception that the sky is blue because it reflects the blue of the seas and
oceans.
In fact, it’s the Earth’s atmosphere, and a process known as 'scattering', that causes our skies to
be blue.
Learn more with astronomers at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Why is the sky blue?
Here's the short answer...
As white light passes through our atmosphere, tiny air molecules cause it to ‘scatter’.
The scattering caused by these tiny air molecules (known as Rayleigh scattering) increases as
the wavelength of light decreases.
Violet and blue light have the shortest wavelengths and red light has the longest.
Therefore, blue light is scattered more than red light and the sky appears blue during the day.
When the Sun is low in the sky during sunrise and sunset, the light has to travel further through
the Earth’s atmosphere.
We don’t see the blue light because it gets scattered away, but the red light isn’t scattered very
much – so the sky appears red.
Still interested? Keep reading after the jump for more illuminating info about light, including
the colour of the sky on Mars...
Light up your world
Learn more about space and science with astronomers at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
See a Planetarium show
Out-of-this-world planetarium shows and live astronomy experiences for the whole family - visit
London's only Planetarium at the Royal Observatory Greenwich
Schools at the Royal Observatory
Bookable schools sessions, digital resources, ways to get involved and keep up with what's new -
find out about the Royal Observatory Greenwich's school programme and offers
Astronomy courses for adults
Discover our range of astronomy courses suitable for a range of individuals and experience

What is light?
The Sun gives out or emits all the colours of visible light which we see as being approximately
white.
As demonstrated by Sir Isaac Newton with a triangular prism, when white light passes through
the prism it separates out into the colours of the rainbow.
This experiment demonstrates that white light is composed of all the colours of visible light in
roughly the same amounts.
These different colours have different wavelengths, and this affects how they interact with
different substances. Violet and blue light have the shortest wavelengths and red light has the
longest.
Find more astronomy videos and resources
How is light scattered?
The Earth’s atmosphere is composed of lots of different air molecules. Sunlight can be redirected
by the air molecules and this is known as 'scattering'.
The size of these molecules is much smaller than the wavelengths of visible light. The type of
scattering that occurs is known as Rayleigh scattering named after Lord Rayleigh (John William
Strutt) who discovered it.
This type of scattering increases as the wavelength of light decreases, so blue light is scattered
more than red light by the tiny air molecules in our atmosphere.
The sky during the day
At noon, when the Sun is overhead it appears white. This is because the light travels a shorter
distance through the atmosphere to get to us; it’s scattered very little, even the blue light.
During the day the sky looks blue because it’s the blue light that gets scattered the most. It’s
redirected into many different directions all over the sky, whereas the other wavelengths aren’t
scattered as much.
In reality, violet light has a shorter wavelength compared to blue light and therefore it’s scattered
more – so why is the sky blue and why isn’t the sky violet?
It’s because human eyes are actually more sensitive to detecting blue light, and more of the
sunlight coming into the Earth’s atmosphere is blue rather than violet.
Small air molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere scatter the sunlight during the day to give us a
blue coloured sky

Why does the sky look red during sunrise and sunset?
During sunrise or sunset, the sky appears to change colour.
When the Sun is low in the sky, the light has to travel a longer distance through the Earth’s
atmosphere so we don’t see the blue light because it gets scattered away.
Amazing Sun Mirage Rising from the Sea © Likai Lin, shortlisted in Astronomy Photographer of
the Year 2022
Instead, we see the red and orange light that travels towards us since this light hasn’t been
scattered very much. Hence the Sun and skies look redder at dawn and dusk.
Skies on other planets
Other planets don’t have an atmosphere exactly like ours, and so their skies would look different.
Mars’s atmosphere is much thinner than the Earth’s - less than one per cent. The low density of
air molecules means that the Rayleigh scattering that causes our skies to be blue on Earth has a
very small effect on Mars.
We might expect it to have a very faint blue-coloured sky, but due to the haze of dust that
remains suspended in the air the daytime sky on Mars appears more yellow. This is because the
larger dust particles absorb the short wavelength blue light, and scatter the remaining colours to
give a butterscotch hue over the Martian sky.
However during a sunrise and sunset on Mars, the sunlight travels a longer distance through its
atmosphere and it’s alike to the thickness of the atmosphere on Earth. As such, the blue light gets
scattered in all directions and the longer wavelengths of light don’t get scattered much at all –
providing a blue glow to the sky around the Sun in the hours around dawn and dusk.
Spirit Captures a Sunset on Mars. The Martian sky typically appears a butterscotch yellow colour
during the day and turns bluer near the Sun during sunrise and sunset (NASA/JPL/Texas
A&M/Cornell)
If you were standing on the Moon, the sky wouldn’t appear to have any colour except black.
The Moon’s atmosphere is so thin that it virtually doesn’t have one. When the air is too thin for
gas molecules to collide with each other, we call it an 'exosphere' instead.
Because of the lack of an atmosphere, sunlight isn’t scattered, so whether it’s daytime or
nighttime on the Moon, the sky appears black.

Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, leaps from the
lunar surface as he salutes the United States flag at the Descartes landing site during the first
Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (NASA)
Why is the sea blue?
So the Earth’s sky isn’t blue due to it reflecting the colour of the seas and oceans. But what
makes the sea blue – is it reflecting the blue of the sky?
It’s not the sky that makes open water appear blue. It’s once again due to how different
wavelengths of light interact with different substances.
Water molecules are good at absorbing longer wavelengths of light, so when sunlight hits the
water the reds and oranges get absorbed.
The shorter wavelength blue light is absorbed very little and much of it is reflected back to our
eyes. It’s possible to see hues of green and sometimes other colours in the water, but that’s due to
sunlight bouncing off other particles or sediments within it.
This article has been written and reviewed by astronomers at the Royal Observatory Greenwich
Find more stories you might like

What are noctilucent clouds?

Discover more about the astronomy phenomenon that makes clouds appear to glow at night
Astronomy blog
Read our monthly guides to the night sky, and check out the latest news from the Royal
Observatory Greenwich astronomy team
'To the ends of the Earth': an astrophotographer's hunt for a clear night sky
How far would you travel for a clear night sky? Derek Horlock's passion for astrophotography
takes him all around the world
See the universe in a new light
Visit Astronomy Photographer of the Year and see the world's greatest space photography
Find out moreFind more exhibitions and events

Never miss a shooting star

Sign up to our space newsletter for exclusive astronomy highlights, night sky guides and out-of-
this-world events.
Sign up

Accessible astronomy guides

Let our practical astronomy guides, approved by Royal Observatory astronomers, help you
navigate the night sky
Error! Filename not specified.
Shop
Planisphere & 2024 Guide to the Night Sky Britain and Ireland Book Set
£18.00
The perfect companions for a night of stargazing. Available for the special price of £18.00 when
purchased together. The Planisphere is an easy-to-use practical tool helps any astronomers
identify the constellations and stars for every day of the year...
Buy Planisphere & 2024 Guide to the Night Sky Britain and Ireland Book Setnow
Error! Filename not specified.
Shop
Royal Observatory Greenwich StarSense DX 100 Celestron Telescope
£279.99
Celestron has reinvented the manual telescope with StarSense; the first telescope that uses your
smartphone to analyse the night sky and calculate its position in real time...
Buy Royal Observatory Greenwich StarSense DX 100 Celestron Telescopenow
Error! Filename not specified.
Shop
Stargazing: Beginners Guide To Astronomy
£9.99
By Radmila Topalovic and Tom Kerss, Astronomers at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Stargazing is a useful manual to help astronomy beginners navigate the world of telescopes,
planets and celestial maps...
Buy Stargazing: Beginners Guide To Astronomynow

Our sites
 Cutty Sark
 National Maritime Museum
 Queen's House
 Royal Observatory
About us
 What we do
 Contact us
 Jobs & volunteering
 Press office
 Sustainability
Commercial services
 Brand licensing
 Image licensing
 Filming & photography
 Publishing
 Venue hire
Legal
 Terms & Conditions
 Privacy Notice
 Accessibility
 Cookie Policy

Sign up to our newsletter