Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Day 17...for all the weather nerds out there...

There have been some spectacular sunrises and sunsets recently here in Milwaukee. I took this photo a couple weeks ago in front of Miller Park...


Have you ever wondered why there are so many beautiful sunrises/sunsets in autumn? Check out this article from Weather.com that discusses why the colors are so vivid this time of year. Here's the link to the article on the website. (I blame my mother for my weather nerdiness...she loves to watch The Weather Channel all the time.)


Why Autumn Sunsets Are So Vivid

Updated: Oct 17, 2012, 6:34 AM EDT weather.com
Branson, Mo.
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Branson, Mo.

iWitness Photo/1969x28dz302
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As days grow shorter, the skies at sunset glow with the most spectacular hues, blooming with pinks, reds and oranges.
Why are autumn and winter sunsets more vivid than any other time of the year?
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First, a lesson in the colors of the rainbow: Blue light has a short wavelength, so it gets scattered easiest by air molecules, such as nitrogen and oxygen. Longer wavelength lights -- reds and oranges -- are not scattered as much by air molecules.
During sunrise and sunset, light from the sun must pass through much more of our atmosphere before reaching our eyes, so it comes into contact with even more molecules in the air. Much of the blue light gets scattered away, making the reds and oranges more pronounced.
During this time of year, weather patterns allow for dry, clean Canadian air to sweep across country, and more colors of the spectrum make it through to our eyes without getting scattered by particles in the air, producing brilliant sunsets and sunrises that can look red, orange, yellow or even pink.

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