What color is the Sun?

White. The Sun gives off all colors mixed together, which our eyes see as white. It looks yellow from the ground because Earth's atmosphere scatters some of the short-wavelength colors out of its light, especially when the Sun is low.

What's actually true

The Sun is white, not yellow. Sunlight is a mix of all the colors, and together they look white to our eyes. On Earth, the atmosphere scatters some of the shorter blue and violet wavelengths out of the direct beam, which shifts the Sun toward yellow, and near the horizon toward orange and red. Its light peaks in green, but the mix still looks white.

Takeaway: The Sun's light is white. Our atmosphere makes it look yellow, and orange or red near sunset.

Why people believe it

We see it yellow every day, children draw it yellow, and sunsets make it look orange or red. It's hard to argue with your own eyes. But what we see has passed through the air, which scatters blue light around the sky (that's why the sky is blue) and leaves the direct beam a little warmer in tone.

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