The color of the sun is one of those seemingly simple questions that any child can ask, yet it becomes more complicated when physicists get involved. Here's the scoop: the sun's light is essentially white, but also a bit yellow, and it is considered to be close to what is known in physics as a black body. Confused? Let’s begin with the fact that our sun is a giant sphere primarily composed of hydrogen and helium (along with several other types of atoms at very low percentages).
Its radius measures 700,000 kilometers, over 100 times larger than Earth. Deep within the sun’s core, temperatures exceed ten million degrees Celsius, which is where hydrogen undergoes nuclear fusion to produce helium, releasing tremendous amounts of energy. This energy then travels outward, through hundreds of thousands of kilometers of hot gas, eventually reaching the sun’s surface, where it is emitted as various types of radiation, including visible light, infrared light, and ultraviolet radiation.
The sun’s surface temperature stands at approximately 5,000 degrees Celsius, with the hot gasses on its surface emitting the radiation that we observe. In light of this, what is the true color of the sun? Broadly speaking, the sun emits white light, that is, light comprising all the colors of the spectrum. This phenomenon is easily observable when we use a triangular prism to disperse sunlight or gaze upon a rainbow.
When sunlight passes through a prism or a raindrop, it refracts, causing the diff.
