The common depiction of the Sun as being yellow, orange, or red is a widespread misconception influenced by many factors, including how we often see it here on Earth, particularly at sunrise and sunset. However, the true color of the Sun is essentially white. This is because the Sun emits light across all wavelengths in the visible spectrum, essentially combining all colors to produce what we perceive as white light.
Our perception of the Sun’s color can change based on the time of day and atmospheric conditions. During sunrise and sunset, the Sun’s light has to travel through a thicker layer of the Earth's atmosphere compared to when it is overhead. The atmosphere scatters shorter wavelengths of light, such as blue and violet, more than the longer wavelengths, such as red and yellow. This is why the Sun can appear more red, orange, or even yellow when it is low in the sky, as the shorter wavelengths have been scattered out and the longer wavelengths dominate the spectrum that reaches our eyes.
In outer space, where there is no atmosphere to scatter the light, the Sun would appear as it truly is—a brilliant white. This is also evident when observing the Sun's light from high altitude areas or when viewed indirectly through certain types of solar observation equipment that can filter out the atmospheric effects. Photographs of the Sun taken from space directly show it as a white star, which supports scientific observations of its true color.
By understanding these concepts, it is clear that the Sun itself is not yellow, orange, or red, but rather, an amalgamation of all visible colors combined. It is our specific observational perspective from within the Earth's atmosphere that alters its appearance. Hence, while the romantic hues of dawn and dusk might paint the Sun in warm colors in our minds, in its unfiltered form, the Sun radiates a pure white light, embodying the full spectrum of visible light.
