What would the "sky" look like if there was no atmosphere?

Question

(Yes i know that the reason we have a sky is the atmosphere.)

Okay, I want to write about a planet with no atmosphere for a story, but what would it look like while the sun is up? Would it just look like space? Would the sun overpower the far away stars around it?

If you don't know the answer... could you tell me what it would look like on Mars?

Answer 1

The moon has (almost) no atmosphere, so look at some of the pictures taken from the surface of the moon. There is no "sky". It is black with stars and the sun appears like a bright light. Shadows are pitch black.

We also have pictures taken on the surface of Mars so you can look at these. The sky looks dusty red/brown, it is pretty dark (most images are enhanced by the cameras). Sun appears much smaller and a dim dusty orange color.

Answer 2

the sky would be black because there is no particles in the air to scatter colors of light. during the day, the sun would shine brightly or dimly depending on how far the planet is from the sun. the light from the sun would pass right through the 'atmosphere' giving it a bright look. (yes the sun's light would out shine the other stars onlyif the sun is the closest star to the planet.

Answer 3

If there was no atmosphere, the solar radiation would kill us!  

Answer 4

The same as it does on the moon. Look at the pictures they took on the moon and you'll see a black sky in the middle of the afternoon with the sun shining brightly in the sky. There are stars in the daytime lunar sky, but don't look for them in the pictures.  They're too faint to be picked up by the film shot by the astronauts on the surface.

Answer 5

  It would look clear and black.

Answer 6

You didn't say how far away from the sun your planet would be. If a similar distance as the Earth, My guess is that the sky would be black but probably no stars seen due to the bright light of the sun constricting your eyes' pupils.

Answer 7

The "sky" would be black as in space. It would look like on Moons surface. And you can find some photos on www.nasa.gov. There are some fresh photos of Mars and I'm sure you will find there also something about Moon.  

Answer 8

it would look black, just like space actually is. The reason the sky is blue is because the sun's light scatters when it enters the atmosphere, and the color blue scatters the best of any of the colors (as the sun's light is white, it contains all colors).  If there were no atmosphere, the sky would be all black, except for the area directly around the sun, which you would not be able to look anywhere near because it would be so bright, as there would be no atmosphere to block its rays.