Cotton Candy Clouds

H.Waller
Date: 21 October, 2008
Time: 1830
Weather: 52 degrees, chilly, party cloudy
Location: Brown field

After crew practice today, I had to rush straight from the Sparks parking lot to Olin science building because class started for me in 3 minutes. Although I was rushing through Brown field, my attention was caught by the brilliant sky, especially its clouds, above me. This scene caught my busy eyes because of the unusual color combination. The sky was still blue, but it was a deeper, more purply blue as evening set upon the campus. The clouds were a beautiful shade of pink. The two colors together reminded me of cotton candy one might find at the fair. I would like to find out what is responsible for the coloration of clouds in this way. Why are clouds colored brightly some evenings, and other evenings not at all? What is it in the air that gives them their color?