<p>Good previous answer, just to add.  The Moon can also look shades of yellow and red when there is a high amount of pollution in the air.  I live in Australia and the moon can look Yellow, orange and red when the bush fire season is about us and there is a lot of smoke in the air.  I have also noticed in cities like New York on windless days that the moon can look Yellow there too</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-12T06:56:31.947Z
2014-09-12T06:56:31.947Z
James Willcox
<p>Because light with higher frequency, that is bluer colors, scatters more in Earth's atmosphere and celestial objects thus look redder (yellow is towards red) while the atmosphere looks blue. See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayleigh_scattering" rel="noreferrer">Rayleigh scattering</a>. 
Here is video with a lengthy and somewhat entertaining explanation:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRh75B5iotI" rel="noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRh75B5iotI</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-10T17:07:29.053Z
I would say rather that celestial bodies only look redder (in noticeable terms) when lower down in the sky, where the scattering is more pronounced due to the increased thickness of atmosphere through which the light must travel.
Guy Stimpson
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-10T14:24:06.723Z
2014-09-10T14:24:06.723Z
LocalFluff
<p>My friend and I both noticed that the Moon looked yellow Yesterday, but it wasn't like that the same time the day before, as far as I remember. </p>

<p>Does the Moon sometimes look Yellow? If it does, why does it?</p>

<the-moon><naked-eye>
Why does the Moon sometimes look Yellow?
MadTux
# Why does the Moon sometimes look Yellow?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-09-10)

My friend and I both noticed that the Moon looked yellow Yesterday, but it wasn't like that the same time the day before, as far as I remember.

Does the Moon sometimes look Yellow? If it does, why does it?

**Tags:** the-moon, naked-eye

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-09-10. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

Because light with higher frequency, that is bluer colors, scatters more in Earth's atmosphere and celestial objects thus look redder (yellow is towards red) while the atmosphere looks blue. See [Rayleigh scattering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayleigh_scattering).
Here is video with a lengthy and somewhat entertaining explanation:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRh75B5iotI>

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: I would say rather that celestial bodies only look redder (in noticeable terms) when lower down in the sky, where the scattering is more pronounced due to the increased thickness of atmosphere through which the light must travel.  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2014-09-12. Score: 5

Good previous answer, just to add. The Moon can also look shades of yellow and red when there is a high amount of pollution in the air. I live in Australia and the moon can look Yellow, orange and red when the bush fire season is about us and there is a lot of smoke in the air. I have also noticed in cities like New York on windless days that the moon can look Yellow there too


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