From Warm Yellow To Saturated Red At Taka Ishii Gallery, Kyoto 2026
At the start, the sun is roughly 0.5° above the horizon. The atmosphere filters out the "cool" blue and violet light, leaving the warm yellow and gold tones. As it sinks further, the path of light through the air increases significantly. The atmosphere now scatters away the greens and yellows, leaving only the warmest part of the spectrum. By the time only the top sliver is visible, the light is passing through the maximum amount of air. Red light has the longest wavelength, meaning it is the only colour capable of traveling that long distance to your eyes without being scattered.
