Webb image archive
Spectrum of a Fluorescent Light Bulb vs. Spectrum of the Sun
Light can be spread out into a rainbow of colors known as a spectrum. A spectrum can be displayed as a picture or on a graph of brightness vs. wavelength (color). Different source...
- Date
- Dec 13, 2023
- Observatory
- James Webb Space Telescope
- Credit
- NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI
- Archive ID
- 01F8G7TT6ZPK2APENNVVEZ5DY8
Light can be spread out into a rainbow of colors known as a spectrum. A spectrum can be displayed as a picture or on a graph of brightness vs. wavelength (color). Different sources of light have different spectra because they have different properties, such as composition and temperature. Light from a fluorescent bulb looks slightly different from sunlight because it is made of a different combination of colors. The Sun emits a nearly continuous spectrum (a complete rainbow), while fluorescent bulbs emit some colors of the rainbow and not others.
Credits
Illustration
NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI)