Sky

The sky (or celestial dome) is everything that lies above the surface of the Earth, including the atmosphere and outer space. In the field of astronomy, the sky is also called the celestial sphere. This is viewed from Earth's surface as an abstract dome on which the Sun, stars, planets, and Moon appear to be traveling. The celestial sphere is conventionally divided into designated areas called constellations. Usually, the term sky is used informally as the point of view from the Earth's surface; however, the meaning and usage can vary. In some cases, such as in discussing the weather, the sky refers to only the lower, more dense portions of the atmosphere. During daylight, the sky appears to be blue because air scatters more blue sunlight than red. At night, the sky appears to be a mostly dark surface or region spangled with stars. During the day, the Sun can be seen in the sky unless obscured by clouds. In the night sky (and to some extent during the day) the Moon, planets and stars are visible in the sky. Some of the natural phenomena seen in the sky are clouds, rainbows, and aurorae. Lightning and precipitation can also be seen in the sky during storms. Birds, insects, aircraft, and kites are often considered to fly in the sky. Due to human activities, smog during the day and light pollution during the night are often seen above large cities. Except for light that comes directly from the sun, most of the light in the day sky is caused by scattering, which is dominated by a small-particle limit called Rayleigh Scattering. The scattering due to molecule sized particles (as in air) is greater in the direction toward and away from the source of light, than it is in directions perpendicular to the arrival path. Scattering is significant for light at all visible wavelengths but is stronger at the shorter (bluer) end of the visible spectrum, meaning that the scattered light is bluer than its source, the sun. The remaining sunlight, having lost some of its short wavelength components, appears slightly less blue. Scattering also occurs even more strongly in clouds. Individual water droplets exposed to white light will create a set of colored rings. If a cloud is thick enough, scattering from multiple water droplets will wash out the set of colored rings and create a washed-out white color. The sky can turn a multitude of colors such as red, orange, purple and yellow (especially near sunset or sunrise) when the light must pass through a much longer path (or optical depth) through the atmosphere. Scattering effects also partially polarize light from the sky and are most pronounced at an angle 90° from the sun. Scattered light from the horizon travels through as much as 38 times the atmosphere as does light from the zenith, causing a blue gradient: vivid at the zenith, and pale near the horizon. Because red light also scatters if there is enough air between the source and the observer causing parts of the sky to change color during a sunset. As the amount of atmosphere nears infinity, the scattered light appears whiter and whiter. The sun is not the only object that may appear less blue in the atmosphere. Far away clouds or snowy mountaintops may appear yellowish. The effect is not very obvious on clear days but is very pronounced when clouds cover the line of sight, reducing the blue hue from scattered sunlight. At higher altitudes, the sky tends toward darker colors since scattering is reduced due to lower air density; an extreme example is the moon, where there is no atmosphere and no scattering, making the sky on the moon black even when the sun is visible. Sky luminance distribution models have been recommended by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) for the design of daylighting schemes. Recent developments relate to “all sky models” for modelling sky luminance under weather conditions ranging from clear to overcast.