Why are skies blue?

Question

Oxygen and nitrogen molecules natural color is blue.

Oxygen and nitrogen molecules filter out the reds and yellows leaving the shorter blue wavelengths.

Oxygen and nitrogen molecules scatters the shorter blue and violet wavelengths throughout the atmosphere giving it a blue color while longer yellows and reds pass through invisibly.
a b c

Answer 1

The correct explanation for why skies appear blue is:

Oxygen and nitrogen molecules scatter the shorter blue and violet wavelengths throughout the atmosphere, giving it a blue color while longer yellows and reds pass through invisibly.

This phenomenon is known as Rayleigh scattering. While sunlight consists of many colors, blue light is scattered more than other colors because it travels in shorter, smaller waves. As a result, when we look up at the sky during the day, we see more of the blue light that is scattered in all directions.