Why Is The Sky Blue?

April 3, 2019 | Samantha Henman

Why Is The Sky Blue?


Why Is the sky blue?

For many kids, it’s the first real question they ask about science and the way the planet works.

Even though we learn the answer multiple times throughout our lives, be it from a family member, at school, or from a book, most of us will almost immediately forget the reason why—and that’s despite the fact that the answer is deeply fascinating! So buckle up and put on that thinking cap: here is the definitive explanation.

Good Ol' Isaac

Why is the sky blue?Wikimedia Commons

We actually have Isaac Newton and a number of other important thinkers to thank for the answer. Among his many other achievements, Newton came up with a theory that explains how we see light and color—a theory intrinsic to the explanation of why we see the sky as blue. In his important 1705 book Opticks, Newton studied the way that a prism separates white light into the different colors of the rainbow—or, to be more scientific, the visible spectrum. Before Newton, the relationship between color and light hadn’t really been properly established, but his work established that color is a trait inherent to light.

Newton’s theory of color—that light generates color, instead of the object or body that appears to contain the color—is essential when it comes to understanding why we see the sky as blue. Newton used a prism to illustrate that light, even light that appears “pure white,” such as sunlight, contains a multitude of colors.

But what does that mean for us? Well, the prism is actually analogous to a part of the eye that’s fundamental to the way we experience light and color—the lens. He theorized that both prisms and lenses, including the lens of the eye, work to refract the light, changing it in a way that causes us to be able to see color.

Bending Light

Why is the sky blue?Shutterstock

Refraction is one of those words that’s thrown around a lot in science and physics, but it’s a word that few people fully understand. When it comes to seeing light and experiencing color, we’re specifically talking about refraction of light, as there are other types of refraction as well. Refraction essentially means the way a wave changes when it passes through one medium to another—in our case, the prism or lens is the medium that changes (or refracts) the light wave, creating the effect of one or a rainbow of colors.

Prisms and the lens of the human eye aren’t the only instruments that can refract light—there’s also glasses (and contact lens), camera lenses, binoculars, and microscopes. But though refraction is an important concept when it comes to the way we commonly experience light and color, it also isn’t the only way that light, and therefore color, can be shaped.

To put it simply, when we look up at the sky, we’re seeing the “pure” white light of the sun, and yes, it’s refracted through the lens of our eyes. But, as mentioned, it isn’t the sole way that light is reflected to create said experience. There’s also particles and molecules in the air that scatter light waves, and this is a fundamental part of how that familiar shade of serene yet vivid blue is created in the sky.

The work on understanding how molecules scatter light was started in the mid-19th century by a physicist named John Tyndall, and was continued by John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, a few years later. Of course, they weren’t exactly on the nose—they attributed the scattering to particles of dust and humidity in the sky, but if that were true, a humid atmosphere and pollution would have a much greater effect on the sky’s color. It was no less a man than Einstein who took Tyndall and Raleigh’s basic ideas about the scattering of light and attributed it to molecules in the atmosphere instead of dust or moisture—from Newton to Einstein, it took a true dream team of scientists to explain how the sky appears blue.

Got the Blues

That’s the how, but there’s still the why of that particular color. Why blue and not green or orange or pink? Well, as previously mentioned, Newton’s theory showed how the prism separated light into the colors of the rainbow—specifically, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. All other colors—and even white light, for our purposes—are actually made up of combinations of these colors. Light energy, like that from the sun, travels in a straight line until it’s disrupted by something (like a prism or lens, or molecules in the air, as mentioned). Then it is distorted into waves, and each color in the visual spectrum (or rainbow) has a different wave shape. While red is a longer, less crimped wave, blue is much shorter, with a tighter fold.

Why is the sky blue?Wikimedia Commons

It's Complicated

As the molecules in the air distort the pure white light from the sun, they create a wave of light energy at a frequency that, to us, looks like blue. But hey, there are two other colors after blue, indigo and violet, that have even shorter waves. So why don’t we see those colors? Part of that has to do with the atmosphere which scatters the light, and part of it has to do with the color receptors in our eyes, known as cones. While most of the light that makes it to our eyes has been scattered to blue, which is received by the blue color receptors, whatever indigo and violent waves do survive to make it to our eyes are read by the red color receptors in our eyes, leading to our specific experience of sky blue—without those residual indigo and violet waves, the blue would be much more green-tinged.

All of these same principles account for the variation in color of the sky during sunset (when the light is not as direct, resulting in a yellow effect), particularly over the ocean (where humidity is higher, making the sunset orange), or in more polluted areas (where molecules might cause a reddish sunset). And as for colorblind people? Most of them are missing the red cones or color receptors, meaning that, luckily for them, they still perceive the sky as blue.

So, the next time someone asks why the sky is blue, tell them that it has to do with light being scattered by molecules in the sky, creating a light energy wave of a frequency that corresponds to blue. Don’t forget to say we have Newton and Einstein to thank, not to mention Tyndall and Lord Rayleigh! And then there’s the bonus stuff about prisms and refraction…or you could just bookmark this to send it to them. Who can remember all the reasons why the sky’s blue anyway? As the proverb says, “the sky is not less blue because the blind man doesn’t see it.”

Sources1, 2, 3, 4, 5


More from Factinate

Featured Article

My mom never told me how her best friend died. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery.

Dark Family Secrets

Dark Family Secrets Exposed

Nothing stays hidden forever—and these dark family secrets are proof that when the truth comes out, it can range from devastating to utterly chilling.
April 8, 2020 Samantha Henman

Featured Article

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.

Madame de Pompadour Facts

Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.
December 7, 2018 Kyle Climans

More from Factinate

Featured Article

I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life.

These People Got Genius Revenges

When someone really pushes our buttons, we'd like to think that we'd hold our head high and turn the other cheek, but revenge is so, so sweet.
April 22, 2020 Scott Mazza

Featured Article

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history.

Catherine of Aragon Facts

Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Wife

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but very few people know her even darker history.
June 7, 2018 Christine Tran



Dear reader,


Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? We’re always looking for your input! Please reach out to us to let us know what you’re interested in reading. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from “Life” to “Compact Cars and Trucks” to “A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius.” We’ll get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics you’re interested in. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your time!


Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. We want our readers to trust us. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Please let us know if a fact we’ve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect it’s inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your help!


Warmest regards,



The Factinate team




Want to learn something new every day?

Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter.

Thank you!

Error, please try again.