Have you ever noticed how the sky is like a big painting that keeps changing colors? Some days it's a bright blue, like the ocean on a sunny day. Other times, at sunrise or sunset, it's filled with colors like orange, pink, and purple, just like in a beautiful painting. It's amazing how the sky can change its look, showing us different colors at different times.
Sunlight: The Sky's Painter
The main artist behind this ever-changing painting is the sun. The sun sends us light, which is very important because it helps us see during the day and keeps our planet warm enough for us to live. But the sun does something else really special – it paints the sky with colors! The light from the sun is made of all the colors we can see, and when it shines on the Earth, it creates the beautiful sky we see above us.
The Atmosphere: Our Protective Blanket
Before we dive deeper into why the sky changes colors, let's talk about this special blanket called the atmosphere. It's like a cozy layer that wraps around our whole planet, made of air we can't see. This air is super important because it has oxygen, which we need to breathe, and nitrogen, which fills up most of the space around us. But the atmosphere isn't just about the air; it's also where the sunlight meets the Earth and starts to play and create the colors we see in the sky.