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The color of the sun appears reddish during sunset. Which of the following is the reason behind this phenomenon?
  • a)
    Absorption of light rays by the atmosphere
  • b)
    Human eyes are not sensitive to other colors during that part of the day
  • c)
    Scattering of light rays by atmospheric particles
  • d)
    The sun emits different wavelengths of light during different times of the day
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?
Verified Answer
The color of the sun appears reddish during sunset. Which of the follo...
  • As sunlight travels through the earth’s atmosphere, it gets scattered (changes its direction) by the atmospheric particles. Light of shorter wavelengths is scattered much more than light of longer wavelengths. (The amount of scattering is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the wavelength. This is known as Rayleigh scattering). At sunset or sunrise, the sun’s rays have to pass through a larger distance in the atmosphere. Most of the blue and other shorter wavelengths are removed by scattering. The least scattered light reaching our eyes, therefore, the sun looks reddish. This explains the reddish appearance of the sun and full moon near the horizon.
  • This is also the reason that the sky appears blue during the day, as blue has a shorter wavelength than red and is scattered much more strongly. In fact, violet gets scattered even more than blue, having a shorter wavelength. But since our eyes are more sensitive to blue than violet, we see the sky blue.
  • Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
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Most Upvoted Answer
The color of the sun appears reddish during sunset. Which of the follo...
  • As sunlight travels through the earth’s atmosphere, it gets scattered (changes its direction) by the atmospheric particles. Light of shorter wavelengths is scattered much more than light of longer wavelengths. (The amount of scattering is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the wavelength. This is known as Rayleigh scattering). At sunset or sunrise, the sun’s rays have to pass through a larger distance in the atmosphere. Most of the blue and other shorter wavelengths are removed by scattering. The least scattered light reaching our eyes, therefore, the sun looks reddish. This explains the reddish appearance of the sun and full moon near the horizon.
  • This is also the reason that the sky appears blue during the day, as blue has a shorter wavelength than red and is scattered much more strongly. In fact, violet gets scattered even more than blue, having a shorter wavelength. But since our eyes are more sensitive to blue than violet, we see the sky blue.
  • Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
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The color of the sun appears reddish during sunset. Which of the following is the reason behind this phenomenon?a)Absorption of light rays by the atmosphereb)Human eyes are not sensitive to other colors during that part of the dayc)Scattering of light rays by atmospheric particlesd)The sun emits different wavelengths of light during different times of the dayCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?
Question Description
The color of the sun appears reddish during sunset. Which of the following is the reason behind this phenomenon?a)Absorption of light rays by the atmosphereb)Human eyes are not sensitive to other colors during that part of the dayc)Scattering of light rays by atmospheric particlesd)The sun emits different wavelengths of light during different times of the dayCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer? for UPSC 2024 is part of UPSC preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the UPSC exam syllabus. Information about The color of the sun appears reddish during sunset. Which of the following is the reason behind this phenomenon?a)Absorption of light rays by the atmosphereb)Human eyes are not sensitive to other colors during that part of the dayc)Scattering of light rays by atmospheric particlesd)The sun emits different wavelengths of light during different times of the dayCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for UPSC 2024 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for The color of the sun appears reddish during sunset. Which of the following is the reason behind this phenomenon?a)Absorption of light rays by the atmosphereb)Human eyes are not sensitive to other colors during that part of the dayc)Scattering of light rays by atmospheric particlesd)The sun emits different wavelengths of light during different times of the dayCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?.
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