Fire in the Sky

Here is a picture taken during our westbound drive from home today from my work in Irvine. We were at this crossroad not too far from the house and both of us driver and passenger were impatiently waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Fidgeting and looking out, and looking up, that's when I noticed the sky above and how vibrant it was!

The sky was bright orange! How enchanting! What a respite from today's drab grind. I just had to take snapshots from inside the car, and continued to do so while my driver was intent on driving as fast as allowable, swerving in between lanes in an effort to get us both home as soon as safely possible.

Have you ever figured out why orange skies form at sunset? It is because of a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering right?

Sunlight has a rainbow of colors, with the blue, violet, and green having short wavelengths; they are "scattered away" during the day, the longer wavelengths - red, orange, and yellow - pass through and therefore as seen by the human eye at sundown...like a fire in the sky!