What accounts for the rich red and orange colors observed during sunrise or sunset?
Answer
The extended path light must travel through the atmosphere scatters away nearly all the blue light.
When the Sun is near the horizon, the light travels through a much greater column of atmosphere, causing the blue light (shorter wavelengths) to be scattered away from the direct line of sight, leaving the unscattered longer wavelengths (reds, oranges) to reach the observer.
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