Why do sunsets look red?

During the evening, when the sun is near the horizon we may see a beautiful sunset.  The reds and oranges of a sunset are caused by the filtering action of the sky.

Sunlight, as we know, is made of many colors.  We can see the colors that make up sunlight when we look at a rainbow.  As sunlight passes through the atmosphere, the different colors are scattered by the air.

During the day, when the sun is directly overhead, its rays do not have to travel through as much of the atmosphere to reach the earth.  The sunlight is scattered in such a way that we see more of the blue rays.  But at sunset, when the sun is low in the sky, the light rays must travel through much more of the earth’s atmosphere to reach the viewer.

As a result, the shorter blue rays are soon scattered out and we can see more of the longer orange and red rays of sunlight – and we have a reddish sunset.  The red color of sunrise is caused the same way. – Dick Rogers

What makes the ring around the moon?

The ring around the moon or sun is caused when the rays of light are bent and reflected by clouds of ice crystals high in the sky.  A big, shining ring of light sometimes appears around the moon.  The ring is not really around the moon—it only seems to be:

The “ring around the moon” is caused when the moon shines on clouds of tiny ice crystals high in the sky.  The ice crystals bend and reflect the moonlight to make a halo, or circle of light.  Sometimes two bright spots, that look like a little moons, can be seen in the halo.  They are called “moon dogs.”  We can sometimes see a halo around the sun, and we can also see “sun  dogs,” as the sun shines through clouds of ice crystals.

Haloes are often seen in Arctic regions.  These colored rings are generally red on the inside, then orange, yellow and white on the outside.  When you see a ring around the moon or sun, it usually means that a storm is coming.  Smaller haloes sometimes appear around the moon of sun when light rays are bent and reflected by clouds of droplets.-Dick Rogers

What are the Northern Lights?

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are the magnificent display of colored lights that occurs near the earth’s north Magnetic pole.

If you live far enough north, you may have seen the magnificent display of glowing, flickering colored lights high in the clear night sky.

The northern lights are one of nature’s most dazzling shows.  They begin as tiny flickering lights.  They grow and grow until they seem to light up the whole sky.

Sometimes they look like a great, fiery curtain with flames of red, orange, green and blue.

At other times they may flash here and there like giant search-lights, or the brilliant rays may spread upward in the shape of a gigantic fan.

Aurora Borealis

The northern lights are caused by the sun.  On the sun there are often great storms.  We call them sunsports.

Streams of tiny electric particles shoot out toward the earth.

When these electric particles reach the rare gases high above the earth’s surface, they cause them to glow brightly, very much like a neon sign glows.

People who live near the South Pole see glowing lights, too!  These are the aurora australis, or southern lights. – Dick Rogers