Ans: As light travels through a medium, it interacts with the particles present within it. During this interaction, some light rays are absorbed, while others are scattered in different directions. The degree of scattering is influenced by the size of the particles and the wavelength of the light.
Scattering is when light rays change direction upon passing through particles of a size similar to the light’s wavelength. In our atmosphere, blue light scatters the most, while red light scatters the least.
During the day, red light doesn’t scatter much because it travels a shorter distance. Instead, atmospheric scattering of blue light makes the sky appear blue.
During sunrise and sunset, when the Sun is low on the horizon, sunlight has to travel through more atmosphere. This scatters away blue light, allowing red light to travel farther, which is why the Sun appears reddish during these times.