why is the sky orange

The sky appears orange mainly due to the scattering of sunlight by Earth's atmosphere, especially when the sun is near the horizon during sunrise or sunset. At these times, sunlight travels through a thicker layer of atmosphere, which scatters shorter wavelengths like blue and violet light out of the direct path to the observer. This leaves the longer wavelengths—red, orange, and yellow—to dominate the sky's color, giving it an orange hue. Additionally, the presence of particles such as dust, pollution, smoke, or moisture in the air can enhance the orange coloration by filtering out shorter wavelengths even more and allowing longer wavelengths to penetrate. For example, smoke from wildfires or pollution can push the sky into vivid orange tones due to this selective scattering. Therefore, an orange sky can occur naturally at sunrise or sunset due to the sun's angle and atmospheric scattering, or it can be intensified by environmental factors like smoke and dust particles in the air.