Photos

A TECHNICAL SUNSET:

The red hues of the sky at sunset and sunrise are caused by Rayleigh scattering, the same medium that causes the sky to be blue.
As light travels through the atmosphere, some of it is scattered at large angles by small particles. This type of scattering, where the particles are much smaller than the wavelength, is called Rayleigh scattering. Because Rayleigh scattering is much stronger for shorter wavelengths, like blue, the light from a clear sky is blue. Likewise, as the blue component is scattered out of a ray of sunlight, the remaining light becomes yellower. At sunrise or sunset the light has traveled a long distance through the atmosphere leaving only the longest wavelengths like orange and red. The reddened sunlight illuminates clouds and other particles. The combination of orange and red clouds and the blue sky can produce a variety of colors.