TITLE:
The Color of the Sky
AUTHORS:
Frederic Zagury
KEYWORDS:
Sky Color; Rayleigh Extinction; Ozone; Aerosols; Radiative Transfer; Spectral Analysis
JOURNAL NAME:
Atmospheric and Climate Sciences,
Vol.2 No.4,
November
2,
2012
ABSTRACT: The color of the sky in day-time and at twilight is studied by means of spectroscopy, which provides an unambiguous way to understand and quantify why a sky is blue, pink, or red. The colors a daylight sky can take primarily owe to Rayleigh extinction and ozone absorption. Spectra of the sky illuminated by the sun can generally be represented by a generic analytical expression which involves the Rayleigh function , ozone absorption, and, to a lesser extend, aerosol extinction. This study is based on a representative sample of spectra selected from a few hundred observations taken in different places, times, and dates, with a portable fiber spectrometer.