NM top 10: Stunning New Mexico Fall Sunsets

We already know that our sunsets(and sunrises) are like no other.   During the fall season, our deserts are cooler, the air is crisp and when the sun meets the New Mexican horizon, it’s usually pretty breathtaking. My favorite part of our autumn sunsets is when the skies are vivid with fiery orange contrasted with a deep purple sky.    I know most of us  manage to find a high spot in our towns just to view our sunsets and think about things (life, bills, goatheads). But have you ever wondered why our sunsets and sunrises are so amazing, especially during the Fall?

Did you know that blue light has shorter wavelengths! *I didn’t either till I googled this*

Air molecules, such as nitrogen and oxygen scatter those blue wavelengths more.  Here’s a shot of the Organ Mountains, which is a particularly lovely place for sunset photos!

This is so pretty it hurts.

Reds and oranges have longer wavelengths so Nitrogen and Oxygen don’t scatter them as much.

Light from the sun has to pass through more of the earth’s atmosphere before our eyes can process it.  So that blue light is filtered through even more of the air molecules.

The majority of the blue light is filtered away, making those lovely purples and orange hues more prominent. Here is a wonderful shot from Tome, NM!

Furthermore, during the autumn season, clean Canadian air travels across our country and down to our state!

Lovely shot from Farmington, NM! With the traveling clean air, our eyes process more orange and red hues…..

…and more pink hues like this one from White Sands.

and we see other radiant colors from the rainbow spectrum.

Stunning colors in this Las Cruces sunset!

Tada! Thank you science for brilliant New Mexico Fall Sunsets!