Why the Moon Appears to Change Color

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The reason the moon appears to change color is due to the reflection of visible light coming from the sun. Because the moon has no light of its own it relies on the reflected light of the sun to create moonlight and change color. The reflection of light coming from the sun cause’s the moon to appear as if it is changing color because as the sun’s light rays travel through

the earth’s atmosphere the moon catches light from the sun and reflects it down to earth. As the moon reflects the sun’s light rays down to earth, those rays of light travel through the earth’s atmosphere in the form of different wavelengths which then produce different colors of visible light. For example when the moon is low in the sky and close to the earth’s horizon, light from the sun has to pass through more of the earth’s atmosphere in comparison to when the moon is high in the sky or positioned directly overhead. When this happens, air molecules filter out short wavelengths of visible light such as green, blue, and purple and scatter’s them throughout the earth’s atmosphere. When the moon is high in the sky...

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