OK, Luciana...you win this one...

[CFLarsen]

World's "bluest" sky revealed

A 27-year-old TV researcher who won a competition to travel the globe in search of the world's "bluest" sky has found that Brazil is the place to be if blue is your colour. Anya Hohnbaum came to this conclusion after visiting 20 different destinations on a 72-day round-the-world trip organized by on-line travel agents Expedia. But to ensure that her findings were as scientific as possible, Hohnbaum used a special portable spectrometer that was adapted for her by scientists at the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL). Rio de Janeiro came top of the list, followed by New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and South Africa.
Source (http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/10/8/2/1)

Expedia (http://www.let-yourself-go.co.uk/blueskyexplorer/)

What a job...

[Ririon]

Nice, but why is the sky more blue on the southern hemisphere?

[Darat]

Nice, but why is the sky more blue on the southern hemisphere?

Probably something to do with it being the underside of the planet?




;)

[Lynx2174]

Probably something to do with it being the underside of the planet?

;)


Perhaps my wit hast failed me here at 2am, but how is brazil on the underside of the planet? There is no "up" except away from the planet. and that even failes after a while.

[Darat]

Perhaps my wit hast failed me here at 2am, but how is brazil on the underside of the planet? There is no "up" except away from the planet. and that even failes after a while.


It was meant as a joke since most representations of the earth put the "northern hemisphere" at the top.

[Beady]

Nice, but why is the sky more blue on the southern hemisphere?

Probably less industrial pollution down there. Also, I believe that the Amazon generates ~70% of all oxygen that is generated on land.

[geoman]

Nice, but why is the sky more blue on the southern hemisphere?

Looking at the report, many/most of the northern hemisphere skies have partial or complete cloud cover, which presumably knocks the blueness. No indication that I can find of the date range the study was done over, but assuming a publication date of July & a 2.5 month study this suggests that it may have been run over N hemisphere winter

[Hindmost]

The blue sky is probably due to Luciana living there.

glenn:)

[Beady]

The blue sky is probably due to Luciana living there.

glenn:)

Gaack! :sour:

[Cuddles]

Nice, but why is the sky more blue on the southern hemisphere?

Clounds are naturally drawn to northern Europe, and Britain in particular. This is why we complain about the weather so much.

As a slightly more serious answer, populated land in the southern hemisphere is, on average, much closer to the equator than the northern hemisphere. The article didn't mention (or I missed it) the longitude of each place, so I would guess Brazil was just the closest measurement to the equator.

[Beady]

The article didn't mention (or I missed it) the longitude of each place...

I believe you mean "latitude," not "longitude."

[Geckko]

Here I was thinking that the sky was black. :)

[Ririon]

Here I was thinking that the sky was black. :)
It just seems like that sometimes... :)

Would anyone say that the sky is actually noticably more blue near the equator or in the southern hemisphere? It would have been a cool little fact to try to notice when travelling. I haven't been further south than California, but the sky didn't seem more blue there, as compared to Norway. Just blue more often, which I guess is what really counts... Then again, I didn't try to compare. A postcard from Bogota next to my computer features a deep blue sky, but who knows how a postcard compares to the real thing?

[SphereGuy]

Maybe it's because there is more water in the southern hemisphere. Or maybe it's because blue is the heaviest color and it all builds up in the "lower" half of the world. Anyone from Australia care to chime in?

[Beady]

Would anyone say that the sky is actually noticably more blue near the equator or in the southern hemisphere?

Well, Key West is ~ 1/2-way between where I live (the Canuckian border) and the equator, and the sky certainly seemed bluer down there, to me. It's reasonably clear right now and, comparing the sky here with a photo of Key West last March, KW definitely seems to have a much deeper color.

[casebro]

Is the atmosphere thicker at the equator? or, thicker due to local variations in gravity? Or are the skies bluer near oceans- due to reflection, or due to less dust? or due to salt crystals ?

[Ririon]

Is the atmosphere thicker at the equator? or, thicker due to local variations in gravity? Or are the skies bluer near oceans- due to reflection, or due to less dust? or due to salt crystals ?
Thicker atmosphere at equator? Probably not.
Bluer near oceans? The middle of Australia scored high.

BUT:
The sky seems more blue when the sun is high in sthe sky, doesn't it? And more pale when the sun is lower, right? So if you look at the sky at the same local time (10AM) especially in the (northern hemisphere) winter months, the sun will be low in the sky "up" here and higher in the sky on the southern hemisphere. Near the equator, the sun is high in the sky at 10AM all the time. Is this it? Seems too simple, and lead to the whole experiment being BS. Somebody, please correct me. :)

[John Bentley]

Actually, I was under the impression that the blue color was from blue wavelengths being bounced around more by oxygen and nitrogen than other wavelengths, so that color was more likely to enter your eye than other wavelengths. Therefore, it would seem that the more tangential the sunlight, the bluer the sky. Certainly, in autumn, the sky is a much darker blue here in southern US than in summer.

Or so it seems to me.

[Luciana]

Oh, thanks, Glamour! :D

Man, I had no idea. I always thought the bluest sky was in Tahiti - that's what the travel brochures said. :D

Sea in Rio is deep green, not blue, just like in most of Brazil.

It's obvious that there's more industrial activities in the Northern hemisphere, however, Rio is a metropolis with a strong industry also, and the state of Rio is a great producer of oil, so it can't be said there is no pollution whatsoever.

Certainly this research was not carried out in June/July, because in those months there is a constant haze over the city at all times. It has something to do with the temperature of the ocean versus atmosphere temperature. Whatever. But it can be bad enough that flights are cancelled.

Also Rio has two forests right in its middle. Not a jungle or big park, but true forests, the kind where people get lost for days. I don't know if it means anything, just thought I should mention. :)

[Old man]

I thought it was -
The bluest skies I've ever seen are in Seattle...

[Cuddles]

I believe you mean "latitude," not "longitude."

Quite possibly. Nasty words, confusing me by starting with the same letter.:boggled:

[Hindmost]

Oh, thanks, Glamour! :D

Man, I had no idea. I always thought the bluest sky was in Tahiti - that's what the travel brochures said. :D

Sea in Rio is deep green, not blue, just like in most of Brazil.

It's obvious that there's more industrial activities in the Northern hemisphere, however, Rio is a metropolis with a strong industry also, and the state of Rio is a great producer of oil, so it can't be said there is no pollution whatsoever.

Certainly this research was not carried out in June/July, because in those months there is a constant haze over the city at all times. It has something to do with the temperature of the ocean versus atmosphere temperature. Whatever. But it can be bad enough that flights are cancelled.

Also Rio has two forests right in its middle. Not a jungle or big park, but true forests, the kind where people get lost for days. I don't know if it means anything, just thought I should mention. :)


Obviously empirical scientific evidence.:)

I always felt that the bluest skies appeared when skiing in Wyoming or Utah on a clear day. Ski mountains have some of the best views just about everywhere.

glenn

ETA: revised spelling of empirical (imperical)

[Ririon]

Obviously imperical scientific evidence.:)

...

Imperial or empirical? Or is imperical actually a word? It gets over 30 k hits on Google...

[Hindmost]

Imperial or empirical? Or is imperical actually a word? It gets over 30 k hits on Google...

Thanks, corrected within the time window. Fortunately I don't feel embarrassed about spelling errors since I make so many.

glenn