The actual color of the sun is white. When viewed from space, or from above Earth's atmosphere, the sun appears as a nearly perfect white, as it emits light across the entire visible spectrum. However, when we see the sun from Earth's surface, it often appears yellow or orange due to the Earth's atmosphere scattering shorter wavelengths of light (blue and violet) more than longer wavelengths (red and yellow). This scattering effect is more pronounced during sunrise and sunset, when the sun's light has to pass through a thicker layer of the atmosphere, making the sun appear more red or orange on the horizon. In the middle of the day, when the sun is higher in the sky, it appears closer to white or a pale yellow.