what makes the moon yellow

The moon appears yellow because when it is low on the horizon, the light it reflects has to travel through more of the Earth's atmosphere. This causes the shorter wavelengths of light, such as blue and violet, to be scattered away by particles like dust, smoke, and pollution. The longer wavelengths, such as yellow, orange, and red, pass through and reach our eyes, making the moon look yellow or orange. This effect is similar to why sunsets appear reddish. The moon itself remains a consistent gray color, but the Earth's atmosphere alters the light we see, creating the yellow appearance especially during times like the harvest moon. This atmospheric scattering effect is called Rayleigh scattering and is more pronounced when the moon is near the horizon because the light path through the atmosphere is longer. Dust, smoke, and other particles in the air enhance this scattering, further deepening the yellow or orange hue.