Emmanuel

Emmanuel
Rayleigh Scattering

I John 1:1
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;"

Jean Fouquet ca. 1420 – 1477/81

Virgin and Child (Melun diptych)

  Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

Hazel eyes are one of the least understood eye colors. This color is semi-rare and is a combination of several other colors including green and brown. Hazel eyes have less melanin than brown eyes, but more than blue eyes. Hazel eyes often appear to shift in color from brown to green. Hazel eyes are a combination of Rayleigh scattering, the principle that makes the sky and blue eyes appear blue, and melanin, the pigment that makes brown eyes brown.


 
Orion Sword

This is a deep image of the Sword of Orion - the three stars that make up the weapon hanging off the belt of this famous celestial hunter. The image showcases the amazing mix of physical and optical processes including atomic emission, Rayleigh scattering, reflection and absorbtion of light, that go on in this star forming region to create this kaleidescope of colours and details.

Chess: "Emmanuel" "Rayleigh Scattering"

Blue Sky

The blue color of the sky is caused by the scattering of sunlight off the molecules of the atmosphere. This scattering, called Rayleigh scattering, is more effective at short wavelengths (the blue end of the visible spectrum). Therefore the light scattered down to the earth at a large angle with respect to the direction of the sun's light is predominantly in the blue end of the spectrum.

Note that the blue of the sky is more saturated when you look further from the sun. The almost white scattering near the sun can be attributed to Mie scattering, which is not very wavelength dependent.

Measurement of the progression of saturation and brightness

Clouds in contrast to the blue sky appear white to achromatic gray.

The water droplets that make up the cloud are much larger than the molecules of the air and the scattering from them is almost independent of wavelength in the visible range.