Mesmerizing Sunset Facts Revealed To Make Most of The Golden Hour

No matter what you do and where you are, the sun rises at a specific time each day and sets at a specific time each day.

The main reason for the occurrence of sunrise and sunset is because of the Earth's atmosphere. Sunrises begin even before the sun comes above the horizon.

Witnessing the sun rising each day can be very therapeutic and can make anyone feel good with its pleasant and beautiful colors. Sunlight is actually white in color!

The red, orange, and yellow colors of a sunset or a sunrise are influenced by environmental elements like smog, dust particles, smoke particles, or other air pollutants. When the sun is low and hasn't yet crossed the horizon, sunlight passes through more of the atmosphere.

The atmosphere consists of a number of particles and molecules that are responsible for scattering visible light and changing the direction of light rays.

At low angles of the position of the sun, they can completely modify the color of sunlight. Hence, the lesser the particles and molecules in the air, the higher will the brilliance of a sunrise be.

Moreover, violet and blue light have a shorter wavelength than other colors making them more prone to scattering. As a result, we end up seeing a sunrise or a sunset in the colors of red, orange, or yellow shades.

Air pollution is a factor that has a massive negative impact on the planet but for a long time, it is been providing us with some of the most amazing sunrises and sunsets! Basically, the Earth's atmosphere acts like a prism that scatters the sun's rays.

During the ancient days, a common phrase was used among sailors, voyagers, and travelers called 'Red sky in the morning'.

This short phrase was used to warn them. Among travelers and sailors, a fiery red sunrise is a bad sign as it indicates that good weather has passed and that a storm may be approaching soon, from the direction of the east.

However, a red sunset tells the sailor that the air is clear and the weather is good.

We all know that the sun rises in the east but most of us actually don't why. You see the sunrise in the east and the sunset in the west because of the Earth's rotation which rotates towards the east's direction!

With sunsets, the sun loses its vibrant colors.

At the time of a sunset, the sun is dipping low to the horizon. It starts to lose its blue hues and wavelength and then the green, yellow and orange hues are lost, leaving only red wavelengths.

This is why when you look at the sunset, it almost resembles a blazing ball of fire. What will really blow your mind is that by the time you see the sunset in the sky, it's already gone!

So, a sunset is kind of an illusion.

The atmosphere of the sky is just a refraction of the sun. The atmosphere bends the sunlight and we get a sunset but by the time this has happened the sun has already gone below the horizon.

Furthermore, the small and big particles in the atmosphere of the sky tend to absorb more light.

This ends up muting the colors of a sunset by scattering blue light and other color wavelengths, leaving more space for the red light to spread over. Many believe that clouds that are situated high in the atmosphere can produce more colorful sunsets.

The scientific explanation behind this is that higher clouds in the sky can easily catch the blazing rays of the setting sun and can also reflect it easily on the ground below.

Sunset is different from twilight which is divided into three stages-civil twilight, nautical twilight, and astronomical twilight. Dusk takes place towards the end of astronomical twilight and is considered to be the darkest moment of twilight before night!

What is a sunset?

Sunset, also known as sundown, is an event that happens daily during the end of the day where the sun goes below the horizon as a result of the Earth's rotation.

Sunsets are never the same and each time they occur they can be either really bright or really dull and they come in the colors of red, orange, and yellow shades!

Many people have also noticed sunsets that look pink and purple, making the sky look like cotton candy!

These differences in the colors of a sunset are because of the particles and molecules present in the air that are responsible for bending and scattering the light rays of the sun.

Unfortunately, pollution creates some really pretty sunsets. Particles of smoke do a great job at scattering out colors, leaving the reds, pinks, and oranges to be quite brilliant and filtering out the yellows, greens, and blues.

Weather conditions also play a significant role in bringing out a beautiful sunset. Winter sunsets are better than summer sunsets firstly because the sun sets much earlier compared to the sun setting in summers.

Secondly, according to weather experts, a winter sky contains cleaner air which reduces the possibility of scattering light beyond the visible spectrum.

Difference Between Sunset And Sunrise

You'd see a sunset in the morning whereas you'd see a sunset in the evening. A sunrise and a sunset are very much different from each other but on some occasions, you can feel that the sunrise you saw in the morning is almost identical to the sunset you saw in the evening.

This is due to the fact that there is not much difference in the light that is coming from the sun and during these instances, the sunlight passes through the same distance of the atmosphere.

Some psychologists and scientists claim that our perception changes through the day and what we see in the morning can be different from what we see in the evening. This can make us see a redder sunset.

However, when we come towards the end of the day, the atmosphere in the sky consists of more particles and molecules which leads to more refraction of light. As a result, the sky filters out most of the colors, leaving only reddish and dark orange hues to take over the sky.

How does the sun set?

The position of the sun in our solar system is always at the center. For us, we see the sun rising in the east and setting in the west because of the Earth's rotation.

As the Earth rotates, all the different locations on Earth pass through the sun's light.

As the place you live in turns towards the light of the sun, the sun rises in the east, and as your city or town moves away from the sun, the sun will begin to set in the west.

In the summers, sunrise and sunset tend to occur in more muted tones due to the existence of more pollution and moisture in the air or atmosphere.

Features Of Sunset

Sunset is a striking visual that invokes us to feel calm, serene, satisfied, and at peace. In fact, many psychologists and wellbeing experts advise people to take time out of their day to appreciate the view of a sunset or sunrise.

Sunset is usually reddish in color and often can take the colors of pink, orange, and purple. More pollutant agents in the air create a spectacular sunset but heavy pollution can make them look murky and dull.