Sky

The sky is a visual feature of Minecraft worlds rendered behind all objects in the game. It changes color depending on the time of day, biome, weather, and altitude.‌^{[BE only]} In or around the sky are other graphical features such as the sun and clouds.

The sky technically only exists in the Overworld with Vibrant Visuals disabled, with "Beautiful Skies" enabled, and while the camera is not in lava, water, or powder snow. The atmosphere around the world in other circumstances consists of fog, with the End sky texture in the End.

The sky is a uniform color in the atmosphere that fades into transparency from zenith to the horizon, reaching full transparency at 7° above the horizon. The sky is rendered before fog, making objects in the sky that are faded by fog distinguishable from the sky. The transparency near the horizon causes the fog color to take over the atmosphere.

In the sky are several visual objects that are not faded by fog:

• The sun, which rotates around the world with the daylight cycle, and also has some visual effects.‌^{[BE only]} It is not visible during precipitation (except dry biomes)‌^{[BE only]} or at nighttime.‌^{[BE only]}
• The moon rotates on the opposite side of the sun. It has different phases which have some gameplay effects. It is not visible during precipitation (except dry biomes)‌^{[BE only]} or at daytime.‌^{[BE only]}
• Stars rotate with the sun and the moon. They fade in during sunset, and disappear during sunrise. They are not visible during precipitiation.
• Clouds are objects within the world that slowly move westward. They are faded with the render distance‌^{[BE only]}/environmental fog‌^{[JE only]} and have varying transparencies and colors depending on the daylight cycle and weather.

At night, the sky color is always
 #000000, and during sunset and sunrise this gradually fades with the biome-dependent daytime colors. In Bedrock Edition, a set color is applied on top of biome colors during precipitation:

• During rainfall or snowfall at day (not in dry biomes):
   rgb(103, 103, 103) for 100%
• During thunderstorms or when a wither is nearby at day:
   rgb(51, 51, 51) blended for 75% with regular colors, or rainfall colors if there is also rain.
• When lightning strikes, the sky flashes multiple times:
   rgb(204, 204, 255) blended for 45% with all previous colors. This can be disabled with the "Hide Sky Flashes" setting.

• 👁 Image
  
• 👁 Image
  
• 👁 Image
  

In Bedrock Edition, the daytime sky color changes depending on the camera's altitude. If the world is not a flat world, and the camera is not in lava and not in powder snow, the brightness gradually lowers between Y=32 and Y=-11 while the vignette fades in. Below Y=-11, the sky suddenly turns pure black and the vignette gets its full opacity. Above Y=32, the sky gradually brightens and gets a more purple color, which becomes noticeable above roughly Y=2000.

When the sky color changes, it visually fades from the previous color to the next one in seconds.

The following tables list how the base sky color is affected by the biome at daytime and during rainfall.‌^{[JE only]}

Issues relating to "Sky" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

• 👁 The sky in plains with no celestial bodies. Note that it fades into fog near the horizon.
  
  The sky in plains with no celestial bodies. Note that it fades into fog near the horizon.
• 👁 The sky in a pale garden
  
  The sky in a pale garden
• 👁 The sky at midnight. Notice the fog having a slightly different color.
  
  The sky at midnight. Notice the fog having a slightly different color.
• 👁 The sky during sunset
  
  The sky during sunset
• 👁 The sky in Bedrock Edition during thunder in dry biomes, or when a wither is nearby, which has the same color as thunderstorm sky but the fog does not.
  
  The sky in Bedrock Edition during thunder in dry biomes, or when a wither is nearby, which has the same color as thunderstorm sky but the fog does not.
• 👁 The sky deep in the void in Bedrock Edition
  
  The sky deep in the void in Bedrock Edition
• 👁 The sky at extremely high altitudes
  
  The sky at extremely high altitudes
• 👁 A single biome world of the End has a unique black sky color
  
  A single biome world of the End has a unique black sky color