Sunlight that passes through a prism naturally separates into its component colors in a very specific order—rainbow order—based on wavelength. (Red light waves are longest, and violet light waves are shortest.) This rainbow is known as the visible spectrum. In addition to visible light, sunlight also contains significant amounts of infrared and ultraviolet light, both of which are invisible to human eyes.
Credits
Illustration
NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI)
