The sun is actually white. It emits light across all the visible colors in the electromagnetic spectrum fairly evenly. This combination of colors makes it appear white when viewed directly. However, we often perceive the sun as yellow because of the way sunlight is scattered by the Earth's atmosphere.
Here's a breakdown of why the sun appears different colors depending on its position in the sky:
- When the sun is high in the sky: The light travels through less of the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in minimal scattering. This allows most of the colors to reach our eyes, giving the sun a white appearance.
- As the sun gets lower in the sky: The light has to travel through more of the atmosphere, causing more scattering. Blue and violet wavelengths are scattered more than red and yellow ones, making the sun appear yellow or even orange.
While the sun is white, it's also interesting to note that it emits the strongest light in the green part of the spectrum. However, our eyes are not as sensitive to green light as other colors, so we don't perceive it as strongly.
