Fall color - one of the most spectacular shows on earth - is a natural phenomena. And while fall color doesn't happen everywhere, it takes place around the same time each year where it occurs. Here's how it happens:

• Trees make sugar from the energy of the sun through a process called photosynthesis.
• Chlorophyll, the green pigment in leaves, absorbs the energy trees need to photosynthesize.
• As fall approaches the weather cools and something else happens too. The days get shorter.
• Less daylight = less energy = less sugar. And it also equals less chlorophyll. This green pigment breaks down as the photosynthesis factory slows.
• Carotenoids and xanthopylls, pigments that produce yellow and orange, are present in tree leaves year round but they aren't as strong as chlorophyll. When chlorophyll fades carotenoids and xanthopylls shine turning fall leaves from green to yellow and orange.
• Anthocyanins, pigments that make purple and red, are something different all together. Not all trees produce anthocyanins. Those that do produce it only in fall.