In a big outdoor photo, how does haze or fog make faraway mountains look less clear and lighter, showing how far away they are?

Haze or fog, composed of tiny water droplets, dust, and pollution particles suspended in the air, affects how faraway mountains appear due to the interaction of light with these particles, a process primarily known as scattering. When light rays reflected from a distant mountain travel towards an observer, they encounter these numerous particles. Scattering occurs when light hits these particles and is redirected in various directions, rather than continuing in a straight line to the observer. As light from the mountain travels through more haze or fog over increasing distances, a greater proportion of this light is scattered away from the observer's direct line of sight. This reduction in the amount of direct light from the mountain reaching the eye makes the mountain appear less clear, fainter, and causes a loss of detail and color saturation. Simultaneously, ambient light, such as sunlight, also interacts with the haze and fog particles located *betweenthe observer and the mountain. This ambient light is scattered by the particles, and some of this scattered light is redirected *intothe observer's eyes. This additional scattered atmospheric light, which typically appears as a whitish or bluish glow, mixes with the attenuated light arriving from the mountain itself. The presence of this added atmospheric light brightens the overall appearance of the distant mountain, making it look lighter and further reducing its contrast. The combined effect of less direct light from the mountain and the addition of scattered atmospheric light causes the mountain to appear lighter, less distinct, and often with a bluish or grayish tint. This phenomenon effectively shows how far away mountains are because the amount of haze or fog in the line of sight increases with distance. Therefore, the greater the distance to the mountain, the more pronounced these scattering effects become, resulting in a progressively lighter and less clear appearance, which serves as a powerful visual cue for depth and distance.