The Sun is actually pure white.

 Did you know the Sun isn’t actually yellow? This might come as a surprise since we’ve spent our lives associating our star with its golden glow.

The Sun is actually pure white. Its light contains all visible wavelengths, which combine to form white light.

So why do we see it as yellow? Earth's atmosphere is the reason! As sunlight passes through the atmosphere, shorter wavelengths like blue and violet are scattered in all directions, leaving longer wavelengths—like yellow, orange, and red—more dominant to our eyes during the day.

Sunlight travels through even more atmosphere during sunrise and sunset, scattering the shorter wavelengths further. This leaves behind vivid reds and oranges, creating those magical golden hour vibes.

If you were to view the Sun from space, however, free from atmospheric interference, its true color would shine through brilliantly white.

Text & Image credit: Earth Unreal