Kids’ Corner: Why is the sky blue?

The sky is blue because of the way sunlight interacts with the atmosphere. Light is actually made up of all the colors of the rainbow. Once combined, these colors are transformed into white light, which travels in a straight line through the atmosphere until it hits an obstacle.

There are billions of tiny molecules floating around in the atmosphere. When white light hits them, it splits into different colors. However, instead of appearing orange, green, or purple, the sky looks blue. This is because the oxygen molecules in the sky only absorb and diffuse blue light, making the sky appear blue to the human eye.