Red Sky

[natalie_1982]

"Red sky at night shepherds delight" and all that.  What makes the sky red in the first place?

[ursula62]

the reflection of the sun in the clouds

[Ewood27]

"Red sky in the morning, shepherds' warning" is because the sun rises in the East and the prevailing wind is from the West, so a red sky in the morning means clear sky to the East where the (reddish) sunrise is, but clouds piling up to the West ready to move in and dump rain on the shepherds.  Red sky at night means clear sky to the West and the setting sun shining on clouds to the East, moving away and taking their rubbish with them.  So there is a modicum of sense in that saying.