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初級 · A2Science

Why Is the Sky Blue?

空はなぜ青いの?

⏱ 約2分101 words

Sunlight looks white, but it is made of many colors. When sunlight enters Earth’s atmosphere, it meets tiny parts of air. The light then scatters in different directions.

Blue light scatters more than red light because it has a shorter wavelength. This scattered blue light reaches our eyes from all parts of the sky. That is why the sky usually looks blue during the day.

At sunset, sunlight travels through more of the atmosphere before it reaches us. Much of the blue light scatters away, so we see more red and orange light. This is why sunsets often have warm colors.

💡 日本語でポイント解説

太陽の光は白く見えますが、実際にはさまざまな色を含んでいます。光が地球の大気に入ると、波長の短い青い光は赤い光よりも空気中で多く散乱します。その青い光があらゆる方向から目に届くため、昼間の空は青く見えます。夕方は光が大気の中を長く進むため、青い光の多くが途中で散乱し、赤やオレンジの光が目に届きやすくなります。

📚 Key vocabulary

sunlight太陽の光
atmosphere大気
scatter散乱する、四方に広がる
direction方向

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