Why does the sun look strange this week?

The sun looked very interesting on Monday and many iWitness7 reporters posted photos of the sun and sunset questioning why it was so vivid. We can thank the wildfires raging to our west.

The smoke has been carried in the upper-level winds all the way to the eastern United States. During the day, this smoke produces a haze and makes the sky look milky white.

Around sunrise and sunset, the added smoke particles can produce vivid colors. The sun has to travel further to reach our eyes, so the blue and violet light is scattered even more when there are added particles in the atmosphere. Red and oranges then reach our eyes and make for a beautiful sight.

>> Western wildfires live updates: California’s Bobcat Fire reaches 38K acres, 3% containment

This far away from the fires, the smoke is suspended high in the air, so air quality locally won’t be impacted.

Cox Media Group