The principle of Rayleigh Scattering explains the red or orange sunsets. As the sun moves lower in the sky, its light has to travel through "more" of the atmosphere since the sun is at a much lower angle. In fact at the horizons on a level plane, the atmosphere is about 40 times more thick than it is directly overhead. Particles and molecules in the atmosphere will scatter out the shorter wavelengths (blue in the color spectrum) more easily than longer ones (red). Thus, we are left with the reddish portion of the light spectrum to see.
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Season Starting Dates and Times
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2026
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| Winter | Monday, Dec 21 | 2:50 AM CST |
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2027
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Spring
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Saturday, Mar 20
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3:25 PM CDT
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Summer
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Monday, Jun 21
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9:11 AM CDT
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Autumn
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Thursday, Sep 23
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1:02 AM CDT
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Winter
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Tuesday, Dec 21
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8:42 AM CST |
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