Q12 (NDA-II/2013) Science & Technology › Basic Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) › Geometrical optics Answer Verified

During sunries and sunset, sun appears raddish- orange because

during that time sun emits only reddish- orange light

all other colours are absorbed by the atmosphere

raddish-orange light is leats scattered by the atmosphere

all other colours apart from reddish-orange are reflected back by the atmosphere

Result

Your answer: — · Correct: C

Explanation

The reddish-orange appearance of the sun during sunrise and sunset is primarily due to Rayleigh scattering. Atmospheric molecules and fine particles scatter shorter wavelengths (blue and violet) much more effectively than longer wavelengths (red and orange) [4]. At sunrise and sunset, sunlight travels through a significantly longer path in the Earth's atmosphere compared to noon. During this extended journey, most of the blue light is scattered away from the line of sight [1]. Consequently, the light that reaches the observer's eyes is predominantly composed of the least scattered longer wavelengths, specifically red and orange [1]. This selective scattering process, where scattering intensity is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the wavelength, ensures that the direct beam of sunlight is enriched in reddish hues when the sun is near the horizon.

Sources

[1] Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 10: The Human Eye and the Colourful World > 10.6.2 Why is the colour of the clear Sky Blue? > p. 169
[4] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 21: Horizontal Distribution of Temperature > Transparency of Atmosphere > p. 283

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During sunries and sunset, sun appears raddish- orange because

Explanation

SIMILAR QUESTIONS

When the Sun is near the horizon during the morning or evening, it appears reddish. The phenomenon that is responsible for this observation is

The Sun is observed to be reddish when it is near the horizon, i.e., in the morning and the evening. This is because

The sun is visible a little before the actual sunrise because of which one of the following?

As the sunlight passes through the atmosphere, the rays are scattered by tiny particles of dust, pollen, soot and other minute particulate matters present there. However, when we look up, the sky appears blue during mid-day, because