#DUSK COLOR FULL#

in particular tends to make for better sunsets. And thanks to wind coming off the Pacific Ocean being relatively uncompromised by particles, the air that sweeps up dust in the deserts of the Southwestern U.S. Part of the reason desert air can be cleaner is simply because fewer people live there. A watercolor-like sunset in Casa Grande, Arizona. In a more pristine environment such as a desert, the boundary layer is less interrupted by these particles, so the vividness of a sunset is more apparent. “You’re seeing the sunset through a screen of particles and pollution … so it doesn’t seem that stunning,” Corfidi says. When we are in cities plagued by pollution, the boundary layer of air that separates land from sky is cluttered with little particles. Colors with longer wavelengths, such as oranges and reds, are more visible, while purples and blues (which have shorter wavelengths) get left out. “The longer the pathway through the atmosphere, the more that filtering effect becomes noticeable to humans.” Each color represented in the rainbow has its own unique wavelength. Corfidi, Research Associate at the NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center. “The atmosphere acts as a filter for incoming sunlight, just like a filter you would put on a camera to filter out certain colors,” says Stephen F.

#DUSK COLOR FULL#

While it may not visibly appear that way, sunlight is actually made up of the full spectrum of colors.

Dusk color