<p>Smoke.  There was significant smoke across the USA, which attenuated the light from the sun/moon due to increased scattering.  The smoke particles effectively cause the light to reflect in different directions, so you see more colors.</p>

<p>See below for the <a href="http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/land/hms.html" rel="noreferrer">HMS Smoke Polygons</a> for the day, which clearly shows smoke over your region from the intense smoke/wildfire activity in the Pacific Northwest.  You can also see the <a href="https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/" rel="noreferrer">NASA Worldview</a> composite of VIIRS visible imagery for the day, with fire locations in red.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/KMh5k.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/KMh5k.jpg" alt="HMS"></a></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/wUiDU.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/wUiDU.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T11:58:20.273Z
HMS Smoke Polygons -- not the best name the Royal Navy ever chose for a warship.
David Richerby
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T17:16:48.817Z
It would be better to add where the smoke originated (even though many know it already).
EKons
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T17:24:35.287Z
@ΈρικΚωνσταντόπουλος Its in the answer: "from the intense smoke/wildfire activity in the Pacific Northwest"
Polygnome
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T17:26:00.410Z
@Polygnome I was searching for "LA" or "Los Angeles" haha
EKons
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T20:26:59.013Z
The smoke has been so intense here lately that many mornings you can barely see the sun, and when you can it is very very red.
corsiKa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T04:04:57.597Z
2017-09-05T04:39:51.637Z
2017-09-05T04:39:51.637Z
f.thorpe
<p>Today was a normal day, except the sun and moon colors were strange. After 5pm, the sky was covered with cirrostratus-like translucent clouds and the sky was a blend of blue and grey.</p>

<p>Everything would be fine, except that the sun was orange between 4-5pm. Then by around 5-6pm, the sun was completely red like blood even though it was still high up, and it was 1+ more hour to sunset.</p>

<p>Then, I didn't look at the sky until 8pm when it was already dark. When I went out, the moon was red just like the sun couple hours before.</p>

<p>The whole thing I saw from around south side od Chicago on US Labor Day (4 Sep, 2017). I didn't take pictures of the sun unfortunately because I disregarded its color, but I took pictures of the moon.</p>

<p>Here's how the moon looked through my phone camera, through binoculars:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/XrGxO.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/XrGxO.jpg" alt="Red moon 1"></a></p>

<p>Here is a similar picture but edited so that the moon looks exactly like I saw it with naked eye:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/cmvCi.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/cmvCi.jpg" alt="Red moon 2"></a></p>

<p><strong>What can thia be caused by?</strong> (As of writing this at 10:06pm the moon is still red, and it is 6 hours since both the sun and the moon were red/orange)</p>

<p><strong>EDIT: I also didn't see anything about this phenomenon in the media which is strange, and once again, this was seen from Chicago.</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T07:43:34.030Z
I experienced the same in Germany on the 31st of August.
Zaibis
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T17:13:21.567Z
If you think it's bad in Chicago you should see what we woke up to in Seattle today. There's a thin layer of ash on everything.
Eric Lippert
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T20:00:33.990Z
Is it safe to look at the sun when it's in this condition? We still have our eclipse glasses but you can't see anything at all with them on.
stannius
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-06T03:38:16.113Z
Smoke from western fires.  We've had this in southern Minnesota for several days.
Hot Licks
<atmosphere><moon><sun>
Why were both the sun and the moon red today?
KKZiomek
# Why were both the sun and the moon red today?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-05)

Today was a normal day, except the sun and moon colors were strange. After 5pm, the sky was covered with cirrostratus-like translucent clouds and the sky was a blend of blue and grey.

Everything would be fine, except that the sun was orange between 4-5pm. Then by around 5-6pm, the sun was completely red like blood even though it was still high up, and it was 1+ more hour to sunset.

Then, I didn't look at the sky until 8pm when it was already dark. When I went out, the moon was red just like the sun couple hours before.

The whole thing I saw from around south side od Chicago on US Labor Day (4 Sep, 2017). I didn't take pictures of the sun unfortunately because I disregarded its color, but I took pictures of the moon.

Here's how the moon looked through my phone camera, through binoculars:
[![Red moon 1](https://i.sstatic.net/XrGxO.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/XrGxO.jpg)

Here is a similar picture but edited so that the moon looks exactly like I saw it with naked eye:
[![Red moon 2](https://i.sstatic.net/cmvCi.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/cmvCi.jpg)

**What can thia be caused by?** (As of writing this at 10:06pm the moon is still red, and it is 6 hours since both the sun and the moon were red/orange)

**EDIT: I also didn't see anything about this phenomenon in the media which is strange, and once again, this was seen from Chicago.**

**Tags:** atmosphere, moon, sun

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I experienced the same in Germany on the 31st of August.  
> **username_2**: If you think it's bad in Chicago you should see what we woke up to in Seattle today. There's a thin layer of ash on everything.  
> **username_3**: Is it safe to look at the sun when it's in this condition? We still have our eclipse glasses but you can't see anything at all with them on.  
> **username_4**: Smoke from western fires.  We've had this in southern Minnesota for several days.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2017-09-05. Score: 39 | Accepted answer

Smoke. There was significant smoke across the USA, which attenuated the light from the sun/moon due to increased scattering. The smoke particles effectively cause the light to reflect in different directions, so you see more colors.

See below for the [HMS Smoke Polygons](http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/land/hms.html) for the day, which clearly shows smoke over your region from the intense smoke/wildfire activity in the Pacific Northwest. You can also see the [NASA Worldview](https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/) composite of VIIRS visible imagery for the day, with fire locations in red.

[![HMS](https://i.sstatic.net/KMh5k.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/KMh5k.jpg)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/wUiDU.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/wUiDU.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: HMS Smoke Polygons -- not the best name the Royal Navy ever chose for a warship.  
> **username_7**: It would be better to add where the smoke originated (even though many know it already).  
> **username_8**: @ΈρικΚωνσταντόπουλος Its in the answer: "from the intense smoke/wildfire activity in the Pacific Northwest"  
> **username_7**: @username_8 I was searching for "LA" or "Los Angeles" haha  
> **username_9**: The smoke has been so intense here lately that many mornings you can barely see the sun, and when you can it is very very red.  

---

