Why is the sky blue?

Sunlight looks white, but it is really a mix of every color, like a rainbow squashed into one beam.

High above you, the air is full of tiny bits called molecules. When sunlight bumps into them, the light bounces off in all directions. Scientists call this scattering.

Blue light bounces much more than red light. So blue gets sprinkled all across the sky, and wherever you look up, some of that blue light zooms into your eyes. That is why the sky looks blue!

At sunset the Sun is low, and its light has to travel through much more air to reach you. Most of the blue gets bounced away on the long trip. The orange and red light is left over, and the sky glows warm.

Remember: never look straight at the Sun. It is too bright for your eyes.