Stellingo

Why are sunsets on Mars blue?

The fine dust in its air scatters blue light forward, around the Sun, while the rest of the sky looks butterscotch.

On Earth, air molecules scatter blue light in every direction, making the whole sky blue and sunsets red. On Mars the thin air is full of dust grains about the size of light waves, which scatter red light widely but send blue light mostly forward.

So by day the Martian sky is a dusty tan, and around the setting Sun there is a cold blue glow — photographed by Curiosity and Perseverance.

Related questions