stylistic:tone
Atmospheric extinction

Atmospheric extinction gives the rising or setting Sun an orange hue and varies with location and altitude. Astronomical observatories generally are able to characterise the local extinction curve very accurately, to allow observations to be corrected for the effect. Nevertheless, the atmosphere is completely opaque to many wavelengths requiring the use of satellites to make observations.

This extinction has three main components: Rayleigh scattering by air molecules, scattering by particulates, and molecular absorption. Molecular absorption is often referred to as telluric absorption, as it is caused by the Earth (telluric is a synonym for terrestrial). The most important sources of telluric absorption are molecular oxygen and ozone, which strongly absorb radiation near ultraviolet, and water, which strongly absorbs infrared.

The amount of such extinction is lowest at the observer's zenith and highest near the horizon. A given star, preferably at solar opposition, reaches its greatest celestial altitude and optimal time for observation when the star is near the local meridian around solar midnight and if the star has a favorable declination (i.e., similar to the observer's latitude); thus, the seasonal time due to axial tilt is key. Extinction is approximated by multiplying the standard atmospheric extinction curve (plotted against each wavelength) by the mean air mass calculated over the duration of the observation. A dry atmosphere reduces infrared extinction significantly.