Sky color on a planet with an atmosphere consisting mainly of nitrogen
A planet approximately 70% the size of Earth with a surface pressure of approxiamtely 0.25 bar at sea level. The atmosphere consists of the following gases:
- Nitrogen (98%)
- Oxygen (1.5%)
- Carbon monooxide and dioxide (0.5%).
The planet orbits a red dwarf at the outer border of the habitable zone, with average surface tempatures ranging from -50°C to 0°C.
My questions are:
How would the sky on this planet appear to an observer located at sea level during a.) midday and b.) sunrise/sunset or dusk?
How would the atmosphere of the planet appear when observed from orbit?
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/72840. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
Since your planet orbits a red dwarf, the light hitting it from the sun will be mostly red. And since its atmosphere is quite thin, the light won't be scattered as much and the sky will appear quite dark even during the day. Any particles suspended in your planet's atmosphere will also affect the way the light is scattered, and thus, the sky's colour.
I can't claim to be 100% certain what this planet's sky will look like, but based on the first two points, I'm thinking it would most likely be a dark red or maroon colour during the day, slowly fading to black as it sets. In other words, pretty darn creepy.
(sources: this question and this question)
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