StarTalk Radio – Things You Thought You Knew: The Color of the Sun

Host: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Co-host: Chuck Nice
Air Date: December 30, 2025

Episode Overview

In this enlightening and energetic installment of StarTalk Radio's "Things You Thought You Knew," Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice tackle persistent science misconceptions and everyday mysteries. This episode delves into topics ranging from the true color of the sun, the physics of weather acoustics, and the reality of friction. With humor, clear explanations, and memorable analogies, the hosts dispel scientific myths and tie complex phenomena to daily life.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Real Color of the Sun (01:57–15:38)

Childhood Misconceptions

• Most people grow up drawing the sun yellow—this is a common but incorrect image ingrained from early art classes.
• Neil deGrasse Tyson: “This notion has been with us since childhood that the sun is yellow. And that's not true. It's not even close to being true.” (02:26)

Why We Perceive the Sun as Yellow or Red

• We typically glance at the sun when it's near the horizon (sunrise/sunset), due to eye safety.
• Near the horizon, the sunlight passes through significantly more atmosphere, which scatters blue and violet light and leaves more reds and oranges—making the sun appear yellow, amber, or red.
• Quote: “The atmosphere made it yellow, okay? It’s lying to you.” – Tyson (07:46)

What Color Is the Sun Really?

• At midday, shaded only by thin clouds, the sun is white.
• If the sun were truly yellow, objects that reflect all wavelengths, like snow, would appear yellow—but snow is white.
• Neil deGrasse Tyson: “The fact that snow looks white is evidence that it’s being illuminated by white light. Wow.” (10:43)

White Light and Artistic Misconceptions

• The sun’s spectrum includes all visible colors; their combination, in optics, is white light.
• Art mixes pigment, not light, so the rules differ.
• The language and labeling of color in film and photography stem from these spectral realities—such as the difference between daylight film and tungsten film.

Cultural and Artistic Associations

• Photographers and artists use “warm” and “cool” to describe light, but physics reverses these: hotter “cool” bulbs actually emit bluer (hotter) light.
• Quote: “We need a cooler scene, they had to have a hotter bulb.” – Tyson (14:19)

2. Weather Acoustics and Phenomena (17:50–34:55)

Thunder and Lightning (17:50–25:38)

• Lightning follows jagged paths (“never goes in a straight line”); each “kink” creates a shockwave, producing the characteristic multi-layered thunder.
• Neil deGrasse Tyson: “That’s why the lightning can go snap, crackle, pop. That’s why it’s not just one acoustic experience. It is a highly...I love your thunder.” (20:48)
• The pitch of thunder changes with distance—higher frequencies dissipate faster, so distant thunder rumbles lower.
• Rule of Thumb: Sound moves about a mile every 5–6 seconds (count seconds between lightning and thunder to estimate distance).

Snow and Silence (26:19–29:28)

• Fresh snow absorbs sound rather than reflecting it, which is why cities are so quiet during and after a snowfall.
• Cold-packed snow “crunches” underfoot due to its rigidity—temperatures below 20–25°F create notable crunchiness.

Other Weather Sounds

• Hail forms and falls in summer storms due to updrafts in cumulonimbus clouds; its sound is like marbles, often prompting calls to the insurance company!
• Chuck Nice: “That is the sound of a call to the insurance adjuster.” (30:40)
• The “down pause”: The silence you notice when driving under a highway overpass in the rain.

3. Friction: Friend or Foe? (37:19–51:49)

Friction in Daily Life

• Friction usually gets a bad rap, but it’s crucial; without it, we couldn’t walk, drive, or even sit still.
• Neil deGrasse Tyson: “Without friction, life as we know it would not be possible. Friction is your friend.” (37:41)
• All forms of transportation, apart from rockets, depend on friction.

Physics of Friction

• Walking, driving, and even sitting depend on friction.
• Rockets are the exception—they operate via thrust, not friction.
• Actions like rubbing your hands together to get warm directly demonstrate friction converting movement into heat.
• Chuck Nice: “Friction. I have lots of missing skin on my knees [from it]…” (37:48, jokingly)

Friction and Planetary Movement

• Through action–reaction (Newton’s Third Law), everyone on Earth running in the same direction would technically alter Earth’s rotation—though by an imperceptible amount.
• Rockets, by expelling mass, are able to function in frictionless space.

Friction in Science History

• Aristotle believed things naturally come to rest, but Galileo showed that with less friction, objects continue moving longer—leading to Newton’s law of inertia.

Friction and Spacecraft Reentry

• Friction (and shock waves) are what slow spacecraft reentering the atmosphere, converting kinetic energy into heat and preventing the need for huge amounts of rocket fuel.
• Neil deGrasse Tyson: “Friction is your friend. That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Chuck. Every astronaut loves friction. Otherwise they can’t come home.” (51:34–51:37)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Neil deGrasse Tyson: “The blue sky is stolen sunlight that would have otherwise passed straight through.” (06:47)
• Chuck Nice (joking about yellow snow): “Which, by the way, sometimes snow is yellow and it’s not from the sun... Don’t eat the yellow snow.” (10:27–10:39)
• Neil deGrasse Tyson: “Snow is nature’s soundproofing.” (27:48)
• On friction:
  • Chuck: “I still can’t get my head around liking friction.”
  • Neil: “Without friction, everything would just be floating, would be gliding, sliding around…” (46:37–46:49)

Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Topic | Approx. Timestamps | |----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|-----------------------| | Welcome & Theme | Episode premise/introduction | 01:00–01:57 | | The Color of the Sun | Childhood myths; light scattering; optics | 01:57–15:38 | | Weather Acoustics | Thunder & lightning; snow’s silence; hail, etc. | 17:50–34:55 | | Friction | Everyday and cosmic examples; physics history | 37:19–51:49 | | Closing Remarks | Key takeaways, humor, credits | 51:49–52:08 |

Tone and Style

Dynamic, witty, and down-to-earth, the hosts combine rigorous science with relatable humor. Tyson’s explanations are detailed but accessible, and Chuck’s comic timing keeps things fresh and engaging.

Summary – Takeaways for the Listener

• The sun is white, not yellow; our eyes and art have fooled us thanks to atmospheric effects.
• Thunder’s complexity and snow’s silence come from real physical interactions in our atmosphere—next time it snows, notice the quiet!
• Friction is essential to nearly all aspects of life and technology—without it, everything from walking to spacecraft reentry would be impossible.
• Scientific investigation and curiosity can upend even our most entrenched “common sense.”
• And finally, every astronaut is grateful for friction—it’s what brings them home.

Keep looking up!