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Why does the moon sometimes appear orange?

7 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Same reason the Sun sometimes appears red.

    Red light scatters the least, so when the moon is near the horizon, more air means that moonlight is scattered more, and red is the only light that is left.

    Either that, or you have a lot of air pollution in your area.

  • 1 decade ago

    The color is created by the earth's atmosphere. When the moon is low in the sky the light from the moon has more atmosphere to travel through. This causes the wavelength of visible light to lengthen and appear orange.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    This is most notieable when the full moon rises. The orange moon is usually seen in the city when the moons light shines through the atmospheric pollution and light from the orange sodium road lights

  • 5 years ago

    The moon actually isn't a different color, it is the atmoshpere that makes that seem to happen. It is the same as a red sunset or sunrise. There is dust and pollution in the atmosphere, and it tints what you see behind it, kind of like a lens for a flashlight.

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  • 1 decade ago

    Chances are you've noticed that color when the moon is low on the horizon. At that time you're looking at it through much more of Earth's atmosphere than when it's higher overhead therefore dust and gases in our atmosphere alter the usual silvery-gray color of the moon.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    The lower the moon is to the earths horizon, the more atmosphere lightwaves have to travel through. The lightwaves get scattered by the earth's atmosphere and the particles in it.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Because of it's positioning in the sky. Color has nothing to do with the moon in itself, color is all about light (noor) remember.

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