Why Is the Sun Yellow?

The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star with a surface temperature of about 5,778 K, which means its peak emission is in the green part of the visible spectrum. Viewed from space, the Sun appears white because it emits a broad mix of all visible wavelengths. From Earth surface, Rayleigh scattering in the atmosphere preferentially removes shorter (blue and violet) wavelengths from the direct beam, leaving a slight excess of longer wavelengths that our eyes perceive as yellow or pale gold. Near the horizon at sunrise or sunset, the light passes through even more atmosphere, scattering away most blue and green light and leaving reds and oranges.