The true color of the Sun, when viewed from space without atmospheric interference, is white. This is because the Sun emits light across the entire visible spectrum, combining all colors into white light
. On Earth, the Sun often appears yellow, orange, or red due to the scattering of shorter wavelengths of light (blue and violet) by the atmosphere-a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. This scattering removes some of the blue light from the direct sunlight reaching our eyes, making the Sun look more yellow or orange, especially when it is low on the horizon during sunrise or sunset
. Although the Sun emits most strongly in the green part of the spectrum, this does not make it appear green to human eyes; instead, the combination of all visible wavelengths results in white light
. In summary:
- In space (no atmosphere): Sun appears white.
- On Earth (through atmosphere): Sun appears yellow, orange, or red depending on the time of day and atmospheric conditions.
This explains why the common depiction of the Sun as yellow is a result of Earth's atmospheric effects rather than the Sun's intrinsic color
