What color is Sunlight?
Sunlight is composed of every color. When Sunlight
passes through
a prism, the light is separated into a rainbow of different colors.
Separation of Sunlight by a Glass Prism
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Red
|
Orange
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Yellow
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Green
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Blue
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Indigo
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Violet
|
|
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HINT: Many people remember the
colors of the rainbow by remembering the name ROY G. BIV (
RO
Y
G.
BI
V)
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Sunlight your
eyes CAN see
(visible)
|
red
|
orange
|
yellow
|
green
|
blue
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indigo and
violet
|
|
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Light can be regarded as a wave with the different colors
representing different wavelengths. (This is why we
sometimes talk about "light waves.")
Our Sun emits almost
every
wavelength of light, even
light our eyes can't see.
Each different part of
Sunlight tells scientists
different information
about our Sun.
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Sunlight your
eyes CANNOT see
(invisible)
|
radio
|
microwaves
|
infrared
|
ultraviolet
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X-Rays
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Gamma Rays
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Now Showing at the YPOP Theater!
Scientists look at the Sun with special telescopes that are able to
see only specific colors of light -- even the wavelengths that are invisible
to your eye. The Sun looks different, depending on which wavelengths we
choose. In the YPOP Spotlight is a set of images to show you what
the Sun
actually looks like in all these different ranges of wavelength, from radio
to X-rays. Why not check it out when you're done with this
Tour?
One Step Back
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One Step Ahead
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(Back
to the Beginning of the Tour)
Image Credit:
Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Astrophysics Education
Program, University of California at Berkeley