So the last time I was in a plane during a sunset I saw something new: a series of layered colors along the horizon, from red at the bottom through orange, yellow, green, then ending with the blue of the higher sky. This was not "the glory," a circular rainbow seen on clouds below a plane, but a series of flat lines parallel to the horizon encompassing at least 90 degrees or more (that is, 1/4 of the sky, at a considerable distance from the sun itself). The sun was also low and quite red; indeed, it was neither above nor below the colored stripes, as is the case for most ordinary rainbows (including "the glory"), rather it was on the same level as them, separated by some clouds. I understand that the color is due to scattering, and it makes sense that closer to the horizon I'm looking through more air than at higher angles so this shifts the light more to the red. What I'm wondering is if this phenomenon has a distinct name, and if it only appears under unusual conditions or is a common sight from planes at sunset or sunrise.
Visible Light – Understanding Rainbow Colors Along the Horizon
scatteringvisible-light
Best Answer
It is simply called the sky's colors at sunset, or twilight colors. These colors can be seen as well from the summit of a mountain, from International space station, and from the surface of the earth.