Pinks skies at night – what causes them?

An example of a pink sunset in the Bay. Photo: Chris Taylor Photography.

Western Bay of Plenty residents may have noticed some stunning sunsets lately, particularly with a pink tinge.

But what causes these beautiful sunsets?

According to scientists, the season can have an impact. In winter, the air along the path of a ray of sunlight tends to be dryer and cleaner, leading to brighter sunsets.

Since the Earth is spinning, most of our weather travels towards us from the west and leaves towards the east. But the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

A pink sky in the evening is caused by the light from the setting sun (to the west of us) bouncing off water droplets in the clouds traveling away to the east of us. Those clouds have already passed us, so hopefully the next day will be dry and sunny.

It's also confirmation that the old adage ‘Red sky at night, shepherd's delight; red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning' is a good indication of what's in store weather-wise for the following day.

You may also like....

4 comments

@sunlive

Posted on 23-07-2017 15:37 | By Papamoaner

Either you or your scientific adviser have missed the point which is; Why is it red? (pink if you like).It is because the wavelength of the light gets changed slightly during reflection, depending on what the reflecting medium is, which incidentally is why we see rainbows. Going off on a tangent and discussing the "brightness" avoids the main question which is about the colour.


Pink sky

Posted on 23-07-2017 16:21 | By MISS ADVENTURE

Airborn dust


could possibly also be metal nanobits

Posted on 24-07-2017 08:01 | By Mein Fuhrer

from geo engineering chemtrails causing all the pink/orange tinges in our skies lately.


My thought

Posted on 24-07-2017 12:43 | By Minib

was that the wave length of red is the longest of all colours so when low on the horizon it produces the pink sky or so I've been told.


Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.