The sunsets in Erie are among the best on Earth. If you are from the area, you know that. But, what makes a magical sunset like the ones we see here? The answer may surprise you.

The first thing you need to know is that the light from the sun is made up of many colors all of which are created from different wavelengths of radiation coming from the sun. This color mixture is what ultimately leaves you with the blue appearance of the sky during the day. As this energy, and the different colors associated with it, are scattered, you get color changes to the sky.

Since the atmosphere is like a giant filter for the radiation coming from the sun, we see different types of scattering during different parts of the day. During "High Noon", the energy has less atmosphere to pass through, so there is less scattering of the energy. This leaves behind the blue color.

photo courtesy of NOAA

During the morning and evening, as the angle of the sun changes, so does the amount of atmosphere that the suns radiation has to pass through. Now there is more atomosphere,meaning there is more scattering (or filtering of the energy). This leaves behind the red tones.

photo courtesy of NOAA

Now, what would cause some places to have sunsets that are considered more beautiful than others? The answer is simple. Microscopic junk floating in the atmosphere. Dust particles, microscopic debris from volcanoes, other aerosols, etc. help filter out more of the blues and leave more of the reds and oranges behind, leading to more perceived beauty. So, pollutants make 'em pretty.