The Colors of an End of the Summer Sunset

Aaaaah, what’s better than a Summer Sunset? Although Summer doesn’t officially end until the first day of Autumn, September 23, 2008, 12:55 am EST, in my mind it unofficially ends after Labor Day weekend.

I chose to end my Summer traveling (no better choice) to Israel. Israel is an interesting place to say the least. Putting politics and religion aside, you will find a country bound with geographical delights. For such a tiny country, stretching 263 miles from north to south, and its width ranges from 71 miles to, at its narrowest point 9 miles, there is such a wide variety of terrain to explore from the dry Negev dessert to the fertile Jezreal Valley to the hilly Galilee.

Out of all the beautiful earthly sights I experienced on my trip to Israel, the snapshot I took above of the sunset at one of Tel Aviv’s beaches is what stayed with me the longest. I spent my last day staring at the sunset with my many thoughts. The thought that I decided to explore and share with you is….What creates the exquisite colors that make up a sunset?

I’m going to go against every scientific explanation I read about to find my answer and break it down for you in the simplest terms….


Basically, sunlight is made up of a spectrum of colors, combined together they are perceived as white light or the neutral yellowish white color. The display of colors is affected by two main factors –
1. The density of the air the light has to travel through

2. Angles and distance traveled

The Earth’s atmosphere is made up of a variety of molecules that create obstacles for the sun’s incoming light wavelengths. The more molecules in the air the more obstacles the wavelengths of light have to travel through. Different wavelengths of light have different strengths in overcoming the obstacles; the longest light wavelengths – red and orange – are much stronger and have an easier time shining through the heavy molecules, while the shorter light wavelengths – blue and violet – get rebounded away as they journey towards the earth.

At midday, when the sun is most intense, all wavelengths of visible light reach the eye with nearly equal intensity, and the sun appears white. During sunset and sunrise, sunbeams travel through denser patches of air and longer distances due to the angle of the earth and sun, causing shorter blue and violet lights to deflect, while the longer orange and red wavelengths prevail.

Dust and pollution add to the density of molecules that light has to overcome so volcanic eruptions often lead to beautiful sunsets for months after they happen. Who ever thought pollution and natural disasters can create something so beautiful? Let’s not advertise that though.