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Soothing Science: The Light You See at Sunset

NOVA PBS Official | June 22, 2026



Relax to the sound of the ocean and discover the science behind sunsets.

While a sunset may seem like any other ordinary thing, a number of physical elements had to come together, in just the right way, for you to bear witness to this colorful display.

#asmr #sunset #novapbs #soothingscience

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Written by NOVA PBS Official

Comments

This post currently has 33 comments.

  1. @MossyMozart

    June 22, 2026 at 10:03 pm

    Mr Hadingham should read books for people who are trying to fall asleep. Good job!
    ——-
    I was lucky enough to see a green flash one evening as the sun dropped below the horizon at Duck Harbor Beach, Wellfleet, MA (on Cape Cod). Breath-taking! So far, only the one green flash in my life.

  2. @idget600

    June 22, 2026 at 10:03 pm

    If smoke, aka pollution, has minimal effect on sunset appearance, why, during the smoked skies from the Canadian fires in Quebec, cause brilliant red sunsets in the Northeast? Since the skies have cleared, so have those incredible red skies, that, when it was a "clear" night, were so prominent?

  3. @o0o-jd-o0o95

    June 22, 2026 at 10:03 pm

    I could never understand why anyone would like living in a city. where you do not see any stars at night and all you see are other rusty metal buildings in the horizon

  4. @Andrew-tu5fm

    June 22, 2026 at 10:03 pm

    Thank you for such a clear description of a sunset. It enlightens the curious mind about the nature of reality. And for some, that is a spiritual experience. You marvel at what is because you know why it is, all thanks to science.

  5. @dexter8705

    June 22, 2026 at 10:03 pm

    I would have thought light can be slowed down in different mediums, but sounds like it bounces off all the blue light and only orange and red light gets through so that's why it appears orange.

  6. @Vector_Ze

    June 22, 2026 at 10:03 pm

    A crystal clear sky, as you get after the passage of a cold front, gives the most boring sunsets.
    I think the most beautiful sunsets require clouds, not overcast of course, but broken stratus, cumulus, or a mixture.

  7. @1969kodiakbear

    June 22, 2026 at 10:03 pm

    Gas molecules in our atmosphere. By the way, I have difficulty communicating because I had a stroke in Broca’s area, the part of the brain that controls speech. 2/8/2021 but I lived again. (My wife helped me compose this.)

  8. @MarshallDTeach533

    June 22, 2026 at 10:03 pm

    I love you PBS I really do but see many know you are payed to keep people unaware of the signs of our binary systems that’s tugging the earth. Strange colorations at sunset, moon flipping like a cartwheel since 2012, moon doesn’t rise eat like it used, crescent moon usually appear during the hunter moon (Halloween) now it’s seen as “normal” not people fault they don’t pay attention to their skies I blame those in charge for lying. Rainbows at night?! That’s normal right? The ancestors have been correct once again thanks to the hopis, Sumerians, Egyptians, Mayans, Aztecs, incans, Ethiopians, Brittanica etc

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